The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has called off its nationwide strike after the government committed to release Sh7.9 billion to settle outstanding salary arrears.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, UASU said it reached an agreement with the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury and university councils on the phased release of the funds.
According to the document, the government will release Sh3,880,965,843.50 in November 2025, but not later than December 31, 2025.
The remaining Sh3,880,965,843.50 will be paid in July 2026.
Universities that did not fully use their Sh2.2 billion allocation to pay arrears under the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and instead used it to sustain salaries, will be required to top up once the funds are released.
UASU acknowledged that the union had not achieved its demand for immediate full payment of the Sh7.9 billion but said the decision to end the strike was in the interest of more than 600,000 students and the survival of public universities.
“We are not leaving this industrial action with all that we wanted.
Yet, we consider the firm commitment by the National Treasury and Parliament, and balanced against the interests of students and the survival of the higher education sector, UASU has made concessions and hereby calls off the strike,” Secretary-General Dr. Constantine Wasonga said.
The union also outlined key conditions agreed upon in the Return-to-Work formula, where universities will withdraw all disciplinary actions taken against UASU members for participating in the strike.
Any disciplinary actions initiated during the industrial action will be considered withdrawn.
The union added that contract renewals for staff will not be affected by their involvement in the strike.
UASU thanked union officials, members, and students for their support during the industrial action.
The strike had disrupted learning in public universities across the country, with lecturers demanding full implementation of the CBA.
With the agreement in place, lecturers are expected to resume teaching as the government begins releasing the funds.
UASU said it will continue monitoring the implementation of the deal to ensure the commitments are fulfilled.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba was locked in a high-stakes closed-door meeting with leaders of public university unions on Wednesday, as the government rushed to end the strike that has crippled learning across the country over the last 49 days.
The meeting, convened by Ogamba, brought together top officials from the University Academic Staff Union (UASU), the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), and KUDEIHA.
