The Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) Secretary General, Dr Charles Mukhuwaya, speaking to the media in Kisumu on September 25, 2026/FAITH MATETE
The Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) has issued a seven-day strike notice over what it says is the failure to conclude, register and implement the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for staff in public universities and constituent colleges.
KUSU Secretary General Dr Charles Mukhwaya said the strike will begin on October 2, 2026, at 12.01 am if the unresolved issues are not addressed.
In a statement issued on Friday, Mukhwaya said the union had exhausted negotiations, social dialogue and administrative channels in a bid to resolve the dispute, saying employers had not demonstrated commitment towards concluding the new agreement.
“The Kenya University Staff Union, in all public universities and constituent colleges of Kenya, today issues a seven-day strike notice,” Mukhwaya said.
The union represents employees in information sciences, technical, library and administrative services in public universities.
The dispute centres on the stalled negotiations for the 2025-2029 CBA, which was expected to replace the 2021-2025 agreement.
Mukhwaya said the previous CBA was negotiated and signed in November 2024, with the parties agreeing that negotiations for its successor would begin in February 2025.
“We were supposed to begin negotiations in February and conclude the process by June 30, 2025, so that the new CBA could be implemented from July 1, 2025, with members receiving the agreed benefits in line with the government’s financial year,” he said.
However, he said, negotiations have continued for more than a year without tangible progress towards conclusion and implementation of the agreement.
“In February 2025, we started engaging our employers, but they have taken us round in circles,” Mukhwaya said.
He said whenever the union raises the issue with employers, they are told that the necessary government guidelines have not been issued.
KUSU has said the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury have not committed funds towards implementation of the 2025-2029 CBA.
Mukhwaya said the union had made numerous attempts to resolve the dispute through the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum and other administrative channels, but without success.
“Despite our continued goodwill and numerous meetings and attempts to resolve these disputes through negotiations, social dialogue and administrative channels, the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum and the Federation of Kenya Employers have consistently demonstrated bad faith and lack of commitment,” he said.
The union said the failure to conclude and fund the agreement has affected the welfare of its members and left key labour issues unresolved.
The seven-day notice is therefore intended to trigger the formal process towards industrial action unless the parties reach an agreement.
“We have now said enough is enough. We cannot continue with this situation. Either you conclude the CBA, have it registered and implement it, or we will take the action that we know best,” Mukhwaya said.
KUSU has urged its members to remain united and vigilant as the union prepares to serve the dispute notice and issue further directives.