CS Ogamba pushes for end to university lecturers’ strike as CBA negotiations continue

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has called on university lecturers to abandon their strike and return to teaching, saying the government is prepared to address their grievances through ongoing negotiations over the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Ogamba urged university staff and their unions to give dialogue a chance, warning against continued disruption of students’ education while discussions aimed at settling the dispute remain underway.

“My plea to our universities’ staff is this: Let us not unduly interrupt the education of our students over matters that the government has already demonstrated willingness and readiness to address,” Ogamba said.

He spoke on Friday, October 23, 2026, during the 10th graduation ceremony at Thika Technical Training Institute in Kiambu County, where 5,421 graduands received diplomas and certificates.

The CS used the occasion to reaffirm the government’s commitment to reaching an agreement with university staff, calling for a return to normal learning as the parties work towards resolving the issues holding up the negotiations.

Government Seeks Resumption of University Learning

Ogamba said the government remained committed to completing negotiations on the current CBA within the agreed period, urging university unions and individual lecturers to resume their duties to allow further discussions to take place.

“As a government, we are committed to the timely negotiation and conclusion of the current collective bargaining agreements, which is the 2025–2029 CBA,” he said.

He maintained that the outstanding concerns could be addressed through negotiations, calling on lecturers to avoid further interruptions to academic activities as the government works towards a settlement.

The appeal comes amid renewed industrial action by university lecturers over delays in implementing collective bargaining agreements and unresolved concerns relating to staff welfare.

The continuing dispute has placed pressure on the government, university managements and lecturers’ unions to find common ground and prevent further interruptions to students’ academic programmes.

Machakos University Lecturers Renew Industrial Action

Ogamba’s call came a day after lecturers at Machakos University resumed protests on Thursday, October 22, 2026, accusing the institution’s management of failing to honour a local CBA covering the 2017–2021 period.

Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Machakos branch Secretary-General Martin Kasina raised concerns over differences in responsibility allowances paid to employees carrying out similar duties.

“You have HODs doing the same job, same job description, but getting different responsibility allowances. That happens only in Machakos University,” Kasina said.

The union officials also questioned the handling of staff allowances and delays in settling outstanding claims, warning that they could resort to legal action if the university management failed to resolve the grievances.

The renewed protests point to continuing tensions between university employees and their institutions over the implementation of employment agreements, staff payments and other workplace concerns.

The developments also highlight the challenges facing efforts to restore stable academic programmes as lecturers push for their outstanding demands to be addressed.

Government Cites Sh18.6 Billion in Payments to Lecturers

The dispute over the implementation of CBAs and outstanding financial commitments has continued to strain relations between university lecturers and the government.

On Saturday, October 17, Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala appealed to striking lecturers to resume teaching while negotiations continued.

Inyangala said the government had paid lecturers Sh18.6 billion over two years to meet obligations inherited from previous administrations.

She maintained that the government remained committed to resolving the disagreements through dialogue, while stressing the importance of reaching an arrangement that universities could sustain financially.

The payment claims come against a backdrop of continued demands by lecturers for outstanding agreements and staff-related concerns to be addressed.

With Ogamba renewing the appeal for lecturers to return to work and union officials continuing to raise grievances, the government faces pressure to secure a settlement that addresses staff concerns and reduces disruptions to university education.