The standoff at Moi University deepened on Monday after striking lecturers dismissed a fresh offer from the university council, insisting it fell far short of their expectations.
The dons, who downed tools on August 20, vowed to press on with the strike until the university honours a return-to-work formula signed on November 30, 2024, and settles salaries in line with the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Eldoret branch secretary-general, Dr. Busolo Wekesa, said the lecturers had been reviewing the council’s proposals since last week, but members rejected them outright.
“We have received the offers and deliberated on them with the employer, but staff have said the package is too little. They will not accept it unless something better is tabled,” he told reporters in Eldoret.
Branch chairman Richard Kero accused the university of abandoning its academic staff, despite their sacrifices to cover lost time from previous strikes.
“Some of our colleagues are drowning in loans and have even been blacklisted by the Credit Reference Bureau. Many others go home without pensions. Yet the employer continues to fail us,” Kero said.
The lecturers are demanding immediate payment of their June and July 2025 salaries, adjusted to reflect the agreed CBA rates. Until then, they say, no learning will resume at the Eldoret-based institution.
