African Education Unions Press Ruto to End University Strike, Honour CBAs
African education union representatives follow proceedings at the Public Services International (PSI) press conference in Nairobi on Friday.
Education sector workers from across Africa have raised alarm over persistent violations of trade union rights and failure to implement collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in Kenya and the continent, warning that such actions threaten the stability and quality of higher education.
The call was made during a two-day meeting of the Public Services International (PSI) Education Sector Workers Network held in Nairobi, which brought together union leaders and delegates from several African countries. The gathering reviewed widespread labour disputes in public universities and noted that the Kenyan crisis mirrors a growing regional trend of delayed negotiations, salary disparities and neglect of non-teaching staff.
Speaking during a press briefing on Friday, PSI Africa and Arab Countries Education Sector Workers’ President Musa Okelo expressed solidarity with the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU), whose members are on strike over delayed CBA payments and stalled negotiations.
“We note with grave concern the ongoing crisis in higher education in Kenya and the continued violation of trade union rights. Despite a mutually signed agreement, areas amounting to Kenya shillings 7.9 billion for 2017 to 2021 are not paid,” Okelo stated.
He warned that such delays not only breach ILO conventions but also disrupt academic calendars, demotivate workers and compromise the continent’s ability to build a competitive, skilled workforce amid global challenges such as digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
Okelo called on African governments to allocate adequate resources to education in line with global commitments, including Sustainable Development Goal 4, and to embrace transparent, time-bound negotiations.
“Universities and governments must cease deliberate delays and administrative sabotage of collective bargaining mechanisms and instead honour existing CBAs and negotiate future ones in good faith,” he said.
PSI Vice President for Africa Prince Peter Adeyemi described the situation in Kenyan universities as alarming, noting that staff had vacated campuses nationwide as the strike entered a critical phase.
He expressed personal disappointment that the ongoing industrial action contrasts sharply with Kenya’s image on the global stage.
“As we speak today, the Kenyan university staff unions are on strike and campuses are deserted. I was proud to watch President Ruto address the UN, but I find it difficult to reconcile that dignity with the situation in Kenyan universities,” Adeyemi said.
Adeyemi further appealed directly to President William Ruto to act swiftly to end the impasse, stressing that the dispute was avoidable if existing agreements were honoured.
“This strike is avoidable, our position is that it can be stopped today if the president intervenes to ensure that the contents of the collective bargaining agreement are implemented,” he added.
The officials cautioned that the impasse is part of a wider trend across Africa, including Nigeria, where salary disparities and neglect of non-teaching staff persist, undermining the principle of equity in education. They committed to intensifying advocacy, mobilisation and international solidarity to expose and resist violations of workers’ rights in the education sector.
