UASU plans to end the university lecturers’ walkout after documenting the Sh20 billion agreement.
UASU plans to formally end the walkout on Friday after documenting the agreement, with lecturers expected back in classrooms on Monday.
The lecturers’ strike could end on Friday after the government agreed to commit Sh20 billion towards settling the pay dispute. University lecturers are expected to resume teaching on Monday, once UASU formally withdraws the industrial action.
Universities Academic Staff Union Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga announced the breakthrough on Wednesday, October 29. However, the union must first document the negotiated terms before formally ending the walkout at 3pm on Friday.
The agreement follows weeks of talks over the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Negotiations had stalled over funding for salary adjustments and other staff benefits.
Lecturers’ strike awaits formal withdrawal
Wasonga said the union’s technical team would meet on Thursday to put the agreement in writing. That document will set out the terms ahead of the planned strike withdrawal.
He also stressed that negotiations produced the Sh20 billion figure, rejecting suggestions that the government imposed it. Meanwhile, neither party has publicly detailed how it will allocate the money or when payments will begin.
Wasonga urged lecturers to prepare to return to their universities and assured students that lessons would resume on Monday. However, that timetable depends on completing the documentation and formally calling off the strike.
Pay talks move beyond rejected offer
The dispute began after UASU rejected an earlier Sh9.76 billion offer as insufficient to implement the CBA. Alongside salary reviews, the union has sought allowance changes and better car loan and mortgage arrangements.
Wasonga credited Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi for helping the negotiations. He also acknowledged Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo’s role in facilitating the talks.
The union leader particularly praised Ogamba’s willingness to honour commitments made during the negotiations.
Beyond the immediate pay dispute, UASU has maintained that the National Exchequer should finance lecturers’ salaries rather than student fees. The walkout has also highlighted staff shortages and medical insurance concerns in public universities.
Students await return to classrooms
Lecturers began the walkout on October 2, disrupting academic programmes and keeping students away from lecture halls. The interruption has also raised concerns over possible examination delays and changes to academic calendars.
At the University of Nairobi, students demonstrated on Tuesday to demand an end to the stalemate. They said the prolonged disruption was undermining their studies, adding pressure on both sides to reach an agreement.
If UASU meets its Friday deadline, universities can begin restoring academic schedules after nearly a month of disruption.
