Wednesday, March 12, 2014
By Nation Reporter
Staff in public universities across the country downed their tools Wednesday, despite a Tuesday court order halting the strike.
At
the University of Nairobi’s Main Campus all lecture halls were empty;
the library and administration offices were closed when Nation.co.ke
visited the university at about 10am.
There was no
activity going on at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology (JKUAT) main campus in Juja. The universities' academic staff
union chapter secretary Joseph Mberia said the strike was on as they
had not received the court order halting the strike.
Reports
indicated that no lectures were going on in Egerton University, Nakuru
County, Laikipia and Maasai Mara University campuses, Moi University in
Eldoret and Masinde Muliro University in western Kenya.
All
1,500 lecturers and non-teaching staff in Moi University boycotted
their work, with the chairman of University Academic Staff Union (Uasu)
Moi University saying they would not resume classes or go back to their
offices until their issues are resolved.
The
staff had converged at the university grounds, before they divided
themselves into two groups. They said they would storm classes and
offices to ensure that no learning took place.
PRESS CONFERENCE
At Egerton, staff union officials were set to give a news conference regarding the strike.
Uasu
and Kenya University Staff Union (Kusu, are demanding Sh3.9 billion for
their salaries and house allowance, money which they allege has been
diverted by universities’ vice chancellors.
The money
is part of a Collective Bargaining Agreement signed between the lectures
and the universities in 2012 that saw the dons win Sh7.8 billion for
salary increment and enhancement of house allowances.
The
strike could adversely affect learning for 500,000 students undertaking
various courses at certificate, degree, masters and PHD levels via
regular and parallel programmes.
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