Lecturers Strike: Ogamba Sends Fresh Directive as UASU Standoff Escalates
Education Sec Ogamba tells striking university lecturers to get back to work right now – and sort out their strike
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has been telling striking university lecturers to come back to work immediately as talks over the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) continue to drag on.
Ogamba made this call during the World Teachers Day bash on Monday, October 5th. He reckons the Government has already sorted out most of the lecturers concerns and pointed out that they had been making payments for arrears from previous CBA deals.
Secretary Ogamba tells lecturers to put their differences to one side and get back to work
The CS argued that , the Government has shown that it is serious about improving the welfare of all university lecturers by finally paying out on some of the outstanding arrears that had been causing all the fuss.
According to the Education CS , all outstanding payments from the 2017-2021 and 2021-2025 CBAs had at last been cleared. He reckons this is proof that the Government is committed to making sure lecturers are looked after.
“The Government has made it clear that we are on their side – we’re not just talking the talk , we’re walking the walk. Payments have been made that were owed to lecturers from the 2017-2021 and 2021-2025 CBAs” Ogamba said.
The CS said the Government is prepared to keep on talking to unions over future agreements.
Government reiterates commitment to 2025-2029 CBA
Ogamba said that the Government’s commitment to helping lecturers will extend to the current 2025-2029 CBA as well.
“We want to get these agreements sorted and that means we’re committing to some serious and timely talks over CBAs – you can count on the 2025-2029 CBA being no exception.” he said.
The row between the Government and lecturers over the current CBA is still ongoing
Secretary Ogamba tells UASU to back down and obey court orders
The Education CS appealed to the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) and individual lecturers to comply with court orders and get back to work as talks with the Government continue.
“UASU and lecturers need to show that they are good for their word and return to work while talks are on-going – lets not let the students’ education get caught in the middle of these negotiations , lets resolve this at the negotiating table” Ogamba said.
He also encouraged lecturers to put in a bit of effort to help resolve this standoff and put the interests of students first.
CS Ogamba asks lecturers to put the interests of students above all else
In the end , Ogamba urged lecturers to do the right thing and get students back in class – after all the students are the people who are going to be most affected by this ongoing row
Why Are University Lecturers Going on Strike?
University lecturers at public universities made the unpopular decision to go out on strike on Friday, october 2nd, causing chaos in schools all over the country.
The strike is being called by members of UASU and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), and theyre hopping mad about the way the government has been handling the 2025-2029 CBA.
UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga is pretty fired up about how the government is handling things – he claims they broke their word on the Return-to-Work Formula they signed way back on November 5th, 2025.
“This is a nightmare we never wanted, but unfortunately, it’s been a long time coming because the councils at universities, the Ministry of Education, and the National Treasury have just refused to honour the deal they made on November 5, 2025,” UASU said in a statement that pretty much summed up their frustration.
The union also is pretty upset about how the government is handling negotiations for the new CBA.
UASU Claims the Government is Failing to Come Up with a Better Offer
UASU is saying that university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury have simply failed to keep their word with lecturers.
Theyre also pointing out that the government still hasn’t come up with a financial plan for the 2025-2029 CBA, even though theyve been talking about it for over a year now.
This disagreement is the main cause of the lecturers’ strike which has basically brought university learning to a standstill.
While Ogamba is saying the government is willing to work things out, UASU says key promises are still being broken.
What’s Going to Happen After Ogamba’s Ultimatum?
The immediate focus right now is on the back and forth between the government and university workers trying to hammer out a deal for the 2025-2029 CBA.
Ogamba’s call to get the lecturers back to work is putting a lot of pressure on UASU and individual lecturers to just go along with the government. However the unions concerns about getting the Return-to-Work Formula right and a decent financial offer for the new CBA are still the biggest hurdle we need to get over right now.
The outcome of those talks will decide whether the strike is called off and when normal learning resumes in public universities.
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Lecturers Strike: Ogamba Sends Fresh Directive as UASU Standoff Escalates
