University education in Kenya is facing fresh disruption as members of the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) begin a nationwide strike today, Friday, October 2, 2026. The industrial action follows the collapse of negotiations over the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between university staff unions and the employers’ representatives. The dispute has been building for months, with disagreements centering on salaries, allowances, medical benefits, staffing, funding and implementation of previous agreements. 

UASU is not acting alone. The Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) have also announced industrial action after rejecting the latest counter-offer from the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF). This means the dispute could affect not only teaching but also a wider range of services provided by employees represented by the three unions in public universities. 

Why the lecturers are striking

At the centre of the dispute is the delayed conclusion and implementation of the 2025–2029 CBA. UASU says negotiations have gone on for a long period without producing an agreement that addresses the concerns of academic staff.

The union issued a seven-day strike notice on September 24, giving the government, university councils and other stakeholders until October 2 to resolve the outstanding issues. UASU Secretary-General Dr Constantine Wasonga said the union had exhausted available avenues of engagement and would proceed with the strike if the issues were not resolved. 

According to the union, the disagreement also involves the failure to honour commitments contained in the Return-to-Work Formula signed on November 5, 2025. UASU has argued that the implementation of the new CBA cannot proceed properly without a clear government commitment on how the agreement will be financed. 

The funding question has therefore become one of the most important issues in the negotiations.

Dispute over the proposed funding

UASU has rejected a proposed Sh9.76 billion allocation, arguing that the amount is insufficient for implementing the four-year agreement.

Wasonga said the previous 2021–2025 CBA consumed a similar amount over a shorter period and that the new agreement contains additional provisions that require more resources. Among the issues cited by the union are harmonisation of allowances, car loans and mortgage provisions. 

The union has also demanded assurances that funding for the remuneration of academic staff in public universities will come through the National Exchequer, rather than relying on student fees or market-based sources.

UASU has argued that lecturers in public universities should retain their status as public officers and that their remuneration should therefore be protected through government funding mechanisms. The union has also called for provisions in the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, to safeguard the financing of academic staff remuneration. 

Salary increment disagreement

Another major point of contention is the proposed salary increase.

According to details reported by Daily Nation, the IPUCCF recommended an 8.25 per cent cumulative increase in basic salaries over the four-year CBA period, implemented at a rate of two per cent annually. The employers' side had considered several options before settling on the proposal. 

The unions, however, say the proposal does not adequately respond to their demands.

UASU had initially proposed basic salary increases ranging from 36 per cent to 68 per cent, while KUSU's proposals ranged from 36 per cent to 113 per cent. KUDHEIHA had sought increases ranging from 75 per cent to 193 per cent. These figures demonstrate the considerable gap between the unions' proposals and the employers' counter-offer.

The unions have also objected to the proposed automatic annual increment of four per cent, arguing that it would not adequately cushion employees against the rising cost of living. 

Allowances are also part of the dispute

The disagreement is not limited to basic salaries.

UASU and the other unions have raised concerns about the treatment of various allowances under the proposed CBA. The unions say some allowances need to be harmonised and improved to reflect current economic realities.

Earlier consultations also raised issues involving house-to-office allowance, leave allowance, book allowance, professorial allowance, dental and optical benefits, death-in-service benefits, acting allowance, non-practice allowance and other employment-related benefits. 

The unions maintain that these matters must be properly addressed before they can accept the new agreement.

Medical cover and staff recruitment

Medical benefits have also emerged as an important issue.

The university staff unions rejected the proposed medical benefits, arguing that they were inferior to those enjoyed by civil servants. The unions have called for a better arrangement for academic and other university employees. 

Staffing is another major concern.

The unions argue that public universities have experienced significant growth in student enrolment without a corresponding increase in the number of academic staff. They want additional lecturers recruited to address the pressure created by high student numbers.

According to the unions, understaffing can place additional workloads on existing lecturers and affect teaching, supervision, research and other academic responsibilities. 

What the strike means for students

The immediate concern for students is the disruption of academic activities.

With lecturers withdrawing their services, lectures, tutorials, examinations, consultations, research supervision and other academic activities may be affected in public universities. The extent of disruption will depend on how individual universities respond and how long the industrial action lasts.

Students who are already in the middle of academic programmes could face changes to lecture schedules, examinations and other activities. Those preparing for graduation could also experience uncertainty if academic requirements cannot be completed according to existing schedules.

Reports ahead of the strike indicated that universities were making last-minute attempts to engage the unions and other stakeholders in an effort to resolve the dispute. At the University of Nairobi, for example, consultations involving university management, the union and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission were ongoing as the strike deadline approached.

Machakos negotiations collapse

The latest negotiations were held at Machakos University, where representatives of the unions and IPUCCF considered the latest counter-offer.

However, the meeting failed to produce an agreement. The unions subsequently announced that they had rejected the offer and instructed their members to withdraw their services.

The unions said the counter-offer did not sufficiently address their concerns, including salary increases, allowances, medical benefits and recruitment of additional academic staff. 

The failure of the Machakos talks effectively cleared the way for today's strike.

Previous CBA issues

The current dispute also has a background in earlier disagreements over implementation of collective bargaining agreements.

UASU has previously raised concerns over outstanding payments connected to earlier CBAs. Parliamentary records from 2025 documented concerns regarding funding for implementation of the 2017–2021 CBA and arrears affecting public university employees. 

The unions have therefore been seeking not only a new agreement but also assurance that agreements reached with university employees will be implemented as promised.

Government and university response

University employers have presented their own financial considerations during the negotiations. The IPUCCF has considered the cost of the unions' proposals alongside the financial position of public universities and the broader government funding framework.

The employers' proposed salary adjustments are substantially lower than the initial demands submitted by the unions. This difference has remained one of the major obstacles to reaching an agreement. 

The two sides therefore remain separated by both the size of the proposed salary increases and disagreements over allowances, medical benefits, staffing and the financing mechanism for the CBA.

What could happen next

The strike does not necessarily mean that negotiations have permanently ended. Industrial disputes of this nature can still be resolved through further negotiations between the unions, university councils, government representatives and other stakeholders.

The immediate issue is whether the parties can return to the negotiating table and bridge the differences.

For students, the duration of the strike will be particularly important. A short industrial action could cause temporary timetable adjustments, while a prolonged dispute could have wider consequences for examinations, academic calendars, research programmes and graduation schedules.

Universities may therefore have to make adjustments depending on developments in the negotiations.