Winnie Mitullah was in no mood to take part in this year’s ”Africa University Day” celebration held in Nairobi on Wednesday. She has joined other striking university lecturers in a demand for better pay.
”My salary is only about $320 per month. I cannot depend on it. To make ends meet, I look for external jobs.This means I have no break because I’m busy always looking for money. I work even on Sunday,” she says.
”It can get so stressful. I know of cases where my colleagues have died because they cannot…handle it. One died in my car as I was taking him to the hospital,” said Mitullah, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi.
Robert Jalang’o, formerly a professor of electronic engineering, says his university salary only allowed him a hand-to-mouth existence.
Although he worked at the University of Nairobi for 26 years, he was often obliged to contact former students — many of whom now hold senior positions — for side jobs to earn extra money.
Unable to cope with his meagre salary of about $427 a month, Jalang’o, who studied in Britain, resigned two years ago. He used his final payment from the university to clear his housing loan.
”We live in sheer poverty, and many of my colleagues have died because they were not able to stand it. Many committed suicide because they could not afford a decent living,” he told striking lecturers this week.
Jalang’o is one of the 3 200 university lecturers who went on an indefinite strike on Monday to demand a salary increase of over 2 000% from the government.
The strike has led to the closure of six universities, and to more than 60 000 students being sent home.
Currently, a teaching assistant earns about $192 a month, and a lecturer about $217. A full professor gets about $423.
The lecturers, led by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), are demanding monthly salaries of about $3 400 for a teaching assistant — and more than $12 000 for a full professor.
UASU was registered just six months ago after a ten-year battle with authorities.
Although the wage demands were presented to the Ministry of Labour almost a month ago, little progress has been made with negotiations.
”The government has made no serious offer to the lecturers. Therefore the strike will last as long as there are no salary figures tabled,” UASU chairperson John Nderitu said earlier this week.
Assistant Minister of Education Beth Mugo has promised increases in February 2004. ”But we want something written down as a show of commitment — not just empty talk,” said Mitullah.
She said lecturers had also asked the state for a pay rise in March this year, but that their request fell on deaf ears.
”Our intention was to get this issue incorporated in the budget which was read in June. Since nothing was done about it, we decided to go on strike,” Mitullah adds.
Efforts to get hold of the education minister for comment on the strike were unsuccessful.
The government has appointed a reconciliation committee to negotiate terms under which striking lecturers can return to work. The committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Kenya Federation of Employers, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions and UASU officials.
It held its first meeting on Wednesday, the findings of which were tabled in parliament which declared the strike issue a national crisis.
”Parliamentarians have debated on it for one and half hours and it has garnered landslide support,” Mitullah said in a telephone interview.
Pressure is mounting on the government to end the strike.
”We appeal to the government to keep the negotiating table open and (reach a consensus soon), because closure of public universities will send negative signals not only to other educational institutions of higher learning in Kenya, but also outwardly,” said John Njue, chairperson of the Kenya Episcopal Conference.
Observers say that the salary increases demanded by lecturers are justified because their pay does not reflect their qualifications.
”They need their morale boosted to enable them carry out their duties effectively,” observed Johnson Kisigwa, a computer engineer in Nairobi.
Kenyan universities have been accused of producing ill-educated graduates who cannot measure up to their employers’ expectations. Poor remuneration has been cited as a major factor behind the alleged drop in education standards.
This is the second time that lecturers have downed tools. The first instance was in 1994 when they were demanding recognition of their union. – Sapa-IPS