Nationwide University Strike Looms as UASU Issues Seven-Day Ultimatum Over Unfunded CBA

  Public universities in Kenya are staring at a complete shutdown after the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) issued a seven-day strike notice, threatening to withdraw labor starting midnight on Friday, October 2, 2026.  

  The union blames the impending disruption on persistent failures by university councils, the Ministry of Education, and the National Treasury to honor the Return-to-Work Formula signed in November 2025 and finalize the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).  

  Addressing the press in Nairobi on Thursday, UASU Secretary General Dr. Constantine Wasonga revealed that negotiations held at Machakos University since last year have hit a dead end. The union learned during a meeting with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on Monday, September 21, that neither the Ministry of Education nor the National Treasury has provided written financial commitments to back the proposed CBA through the National Exchequer. Without this funding commitment under the hand of the Principal Secretary for the Treasury, the SRC stated it cannot issue the constitutional advice needed to present a financial counter-proposal to the lecturers.  

  "This disclosure by SRC confirms that the negotiations held at Machakos University since last year have been an exercise in futility," the union stated, accusing the government of misleading negotiators while aware that no funding backing existed.  

      

UASU Secretary General Dr. Constantine Wasonga alongside other officials have issued a seven day strike notice.

     Dispute Over Public Officer Status and Market-Based Funding

    Central to the strike notice is a growing row over the government’s proposed university funding model. UASU expressed alarm over disclosures by the SRC suggesting that remuneration for academic staff may be tied to student fees and market-based funding rather than direct Treasury allocations.  

   The union strongly rejected any attempt to strip university lecturers of their status as public officers whose salaries are secured directly from the Consolidated Fund or parliamentary appropriations under the Constitution.  

   UASU also criticized state officials for relying on social media declarations—specifically referencing online statements by Presidential Economic Transformation System Head Dr. David Ndii—and un-enacted legislation like the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, to signal shifts in policy.  

   "Unions cannot be directed to rely on social media declarations or to interpret the implied meanings in proposed bills," the union noted, questioning whether public universities were being converted into market-based entities without proper legal frameworks or public policy documents.  

         Key Union Demands

To avert the strike scheduled for October 2, UASU has outlined five mandatory demands to the government:

1.Immediate negotiation, signing, registration, and implementation of the 2025–2029 CBA.  

2.Written commitments from the Ministry of Education and National Treasury securing CBA funding from the National Exchequer.  

3.An end to backdoor efforts aimed at removing the public officer status of university lecturers.  

4.Explicit statutory provisions in the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, safeguarding lecturer remuneration from the Exchequer.  

5.Meaningful participation by UASU in drafting human resource instruments currently being prepared by the Public Service Commission for public universities.  

  The strike notice comes at a critical juncture for higher education, with thousands of students returning to campuses across the country. UASU warned that failing to secure fair remuneration and terms of service for academic staff directly threatens the quality of public higher education and the stability of the sector.