Photo: Capital FM

Lecturers protest during a previous strike (file photo).

LECTURERS and other university staff began a nationwide picketing yesterday to protest the failure by the government to honour their pay deal.

The workers gave the government a two-day ultimatum to act or else they will turn the picketing into a full-fledged strike. University Academic Staff Union and University Non-Teaching Staff Union officials addressed members at the University of Nairobi's chancellors square.

They accused vice chancellors and Higher Education minister Margaret Kamar of colluding to unnecessarily delay effecting their salary increase.

In September, the unions signed a return-to-work formula and Comprehensive Bargaining Agreement with the University Council that ended a two-week strike.

The deal saw the workers' basic salaries raised by 33.1 per cent and a further 14.27 per cent increase on their housing allowances.

The government offered Sh7.8 billion to be paid in two phases backdated from July 1, 2010 and running until July 1, 2013. In the first phase, the deal was to be implemented on or before November.