NAIROBI, Kenya — The Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) has issued a seven-day strike notice to the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) Council, threatening to paralyze learning and research activities at the institution if long-standing grievances are not addressed by October 20, 2025.
In a letter dated October 10 and received by the university on October 13, UASU Secretary-General Dr. Constantine Wasonga outlined six major issues that the union says have been ignored for years — despite previous agreements and commitments from both the university and the government.
Among the top grievances is the failure to implement the 2013–2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was signed in 2019 but has yet to take effect.
UASU also accuses the university of failing to clear arrears from the 2012–2013 CBA, implemented in 2014, and of violating the Return-To-Work Formula (RTWF) signed on March 17, 2025.
“Lecturers at TUK have not been paid since July 2025, a direct breach of the Return-To-Work agreement,” said Dr. Wasonga, adding that the union would not allow members to continue working under such conditions.
The union is also demanding the establishment of a pension scheme compliant with the Retirement Benefits Act and Employment Act (2007), citing growing insecurity over staff retirement benefits.
It further accuses the university of violating the rights and freedoms of academic staff and disregarding legally binding agreements with the government.
“Should the council fail to address these grievances within seven days, all academic staff will withdraw their labor and shall not resume duty until the issues are fully resolved,” the letter reads in part.
If the strike proceeds, it will disrupt end-of-semester examinations, ongoing research projects, and administrative operations at TUK, which has already been struggling financially like many public universities across the country.
The strike notice was copied to the Cabinet Secretaries for Education and Labor, as well as the Vice-Chancellor of TUK, signalling the union’s intent to escalate the matter nationally
The standoff comes amid a deepening financial crisis within Kenya’s higher education sector. The Ministry of Education is grappling with debts exceeding Sh200 billion, according to recent data from the National Treasury.
Public universities owe Sh85 billion — largely in unpaid taxes and supplier bills — with Kenyatta University and the University of Nairobi each owing more than Sh12 billion.
Private universities are also reeling from government arrears amounting to Sh65.5 billion under the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model. Public primary and secondary schools, meanwhile, face a Sh64 billion funding gap, attributed to capitation delays and underfunding.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has similarly been affected, receiving only Sh5.9 billion of the Sh12.58 billion it requested for the 2025 national exams — forcing budget reallocations that have affected learning operations nationwide.
Teachers are also awaiting stalled salary reviews and promotions, further compounding the tension between educators and the state.
As the seven-day deadline looms, education analysts warn that the looming strike at TUK could trigger wider unrest across the country’s public universities, where lecturers are already on strike over stalled CBA talks and delayed payments.
“This situation underscores the systemic financial dysfunction in Kenya’s education sector — from basic to tertiary levels,” said one university lecturer who requested anonymity. “If nothing is done, we risk a total collapse of academic operations in public institutions.”
The Technical University of Kenya Council has not yet issued a public response to the strike notice.
