UASU Sues KEMRI to Stop Retirement of Professors Before 74 Years: "Protected by CBA"
- UASU wants the court to stop KEMRI from retiring scientists and professors before they reach 74 years
- The union argues a signed 2024 CBA protects academic staff from retirement before that age
- KEMRI and the Public Service Commission have 14 days to respond ahead of the court mention in September
TUKO.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya
The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has moved to court to stop the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) from forcing its professors and scientists into early retirement.
Source: UGC
UASU accused KEMRI of retiring professors and scientists before they reach the age of 74, which the union says is the agreed retirement age for its members.
In a petition filed before Lady Justice Hellen Wasilwa on July 15, UASU, through its official Shadrack Muya, asked the Employment and Labour Relations Court to suspend the ongoing retirement process, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Muya told the court that KEMRI had already issued retirement letters to some of its senior researchers and professors, who are approaching the age of 65.
“These scientists and professors are bona fide members of UASU, and are therefore protected by the valid Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed by the union and relevant stakeholders,” Muya stated.
What is the retirement age for university professors in Kenya?
He added that UASU national secretary-general Constantine Wasonga had already communicated to KEMRI confirming the membership status of the affected staff.
According to the petition, UASU, the Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) signed a CBA on 23 November 2024, which sets the retirement age for university lecturers, professors and other senior academic staff at 74 years.
“The notices of retirement issued by KEMRI contravene the terms of the CBA and violate our members’ rights to fair labour practices and equal treatment under the law,” Muya said.
The petition further notes that the government had already communicated its policy through a circular from the Executive Office of the President, dated June 16, which aligns with the CBA by recognising 74 as the retirement age for public university academic staff.
Why did KEMRI fire scientists before the age of 74?
UASU also cited Section 59(3) of the Labour Relations Act, which states: “The terms of the collective agreement shall be incorporated into the contract of employment of every employee covered by the collective agreement.”
With that in mind, the union wants the court to find that KEMRI and the Public Service Commission (PSC), listed as the second respondent, acted unlawfully by issuing the retirement notices in disregard of a binding agreement.
Justice Wasilwa directed both KEMRI and the PSC to file their responses within 14 days.
The matter will be mentioned in court on September 29 for further directions and possible judgement.
Source: UGC
Did Moi University fire some retired, dead staff?
In a related development, UASU sued Moi University over what it termed as an unlawful and unprocedural retrenchment of nearly 900 employees.
The union criticised the university for acting unilaterally, without engaging staff unions, and defying a court order that required stakeholder consultations before implementing any redundancy process.
UASU, together with the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), raised serious concerns about the criteria used in the layoffs, claiming that the list included staff who were either long retired or already deceased.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
