“Our unions presented proposals in 2013 expecting that negotiations were to be started a concluded so that the CBA is implemented within the 2013-2017 CBA period,” Bosire told Capital FM News on Thursday/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 20 – The Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) has said lecturers risk being shortchanged should the government fail to sign and implement the proposed 2013-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by the end of the current financial year.
According to UASU Chairperson Dr Richard Bosire, the unions submitted the proposed CBA in 2013 upon the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which changed CBA cycles from a two-year to four-year period.
Bosire lamented that the government failed to give them a counter offer upon the submission of their proposal, something that left the proposed CBA hanging the balance.
“Our unions presented proposals in 2013 expecting that negotiations were to be started a concluded so that the CBA is implemented within the 2013-2017 CBA period,” Bosire told Capital FM News on Thursday.
“We’re asking for a chance to negotiate and even have a schedule for payment. Once the CBA is signed, there should be a schedule for implementation.”
Bosire pointed out existing disparities in the pay structure for lecturers in public universities across the country, wondering how an entry level lecturer could earn a monthly salary of Sh50,000 – Sh55,000 with the highest paid lecturer (professor) taking home Sh180,000 to Sh200,000.
“We have proposed that the lowest paid lecturer earns Sh195,000 with a professor earning Sh999,000,” he said.
The proposed CBA also seeks to harmonize disparities among lectures’ pay which Bosire said have created disharmony with most university lectures who have often opted to look for greener pastures elsewhere.
“One could be a lecturer and earns the salary of a senior lecturer, once he is promoted to senior lecturer there is no incentive,” Bosire observed.
According to Bosire, the unions are keen to resolve the outstanding issues on the proposed CBA before they move on to negotiate the next CBA for the 2017-2021 period.
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