University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) has moved to court to stop Egerton University from taking disciplinary action against lecturers who took part in a strike last year.
Uasu called the strike to protest non-remittance of its members’ deductions to banks, Saccos and insurance companies.
The university's Uasu secretary-general Grace Kibue and chairman Silas Ngari have asked the Employment and Labour Relations Court to restrain the university from taking disciplinary action against their members, terming such a move unlawful.
"The move is in bad faith. It also contravenes the Labour Relations Act which bars employers from dismissing employees for participating in a legal strike,” the two officials submitted.
They claimed the university wants to punish them for supporting a strong union movement.
Dr Kibue and Prof Ngari said they were summoned to appear before the university management on January 23 and 19, respectively for allegedly leading the union members’ strike that started on October 18, last year.
In response, Vice Chancellor Isaac Kibwage accused Kibue and Ngari of breaching the university’s code of conduct. He stated that their application is defective and incompetent. According to the VC, staff started the strike a day before the seven-day notice expired.
The case will be mentioned on February 14.
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