Teaching and Non-teaching staff at Moi University on Wednesday presented a petition to the management over regular delays in their salaries.
Officials of the staff unions, among them the University Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and KUDHEHIA presented the petition at the university’s main campus in Kesses.
In a media briefing, the officials led by Jane Michael, the UASU National Trustee, said it was time Moi University management focused on its core mandate.
“The management must prioritize activities of the university and ensure the institution focused on its core mandate to attract learners and funding,” Michael said.
She further noted that it is only through a motivated workforce that the institution – ranked the second biggest public progress.
Similar sentiments were shared by Busolo Wekesa, the UASU Moi University chapter official.
Moi University staff unable to function
Busolo lamented that staff at the university are usually paid after working for 45 days, unlike other institutions that get their salaries at the end of 30 days.
“Moi University workers have reached a point where they are unable to function. They have no money to pay for their transport to work, can’t pay rent for their houses and are struggling to pay children’s school fees,” noted the UASU official.
The staff now want the institution to find a way that will ensure their salaries are paid on time.
“As we speak, Moi University employees are dissolution, hungry, angry and all things that go with non-payment of salaries,” noted another unionist.
The Moi University staff union officials claim they have faced delayed salaries since 2021, and their efforts to resolve the matter have always fallen on deaf ears.
They now want the appointing authority to intervene and help save the institution from collapsing.
“It is embarrassing that we wake up early in the morning to go to work but we end up not being paid on time. We are suffering and we need the appointing authority to listen to our pleas,” said Benson Magas, the Moi Univesity branch KUDHEHIA Shop Steward.
When was Moi University established?
Moi University was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from the McKay Commission.
It has since faced financial challenges in recent years, leading to regular industrial actions by its staff.
The university’s current chancellor is Professor Miriam Were while the vice-chancellor is Professor Isaac Sanga Kosgey.
