Court stops African Nazarene University from laying off staff

Labour court has stopped African Nazarene University from retrenching 100 staff. FILE PHOTO

Labour court has stopped African Nazarene University from retrenching 100 staff amid growing financial crisis in higher learning institutions due to decline in number of students.

Justice Maurine Onyango suspended the planned retrenchment following an application by Kenya Private Universities Workers Union.

Justice Onyango fixed the hearing for inter parties for Monday next week.

“The redundancy notices dated October 19 or any other date after October 16, 2019, October 19, or any other date after October 16 are stayed and or suspended pending inter parties hearing of this application,” ordered Justice Onyango.

In the application, the workers through the union Secretary- General Peter Owiti, had asked the court to have the university suspend the exercise in order to allow them to negotiate before effecting any impending redundancy against the workers.

Mid this year, private universities sought the intervention of the National Assembly in order to get Sh5.6 billion to support government-sponsored students in their institutions.

Kenya Association of Private Universities chairman Prof Mumo Kisau said the money allocated to the institutions was insufficient.  

Prof Kisau said the budget allocation to private universities had already been reduced from Sh2 billion to Sh1,980,000,000.

He said that this had been done despite the fact that the number of students had increased from 6,312 in 2016/2017 to the current 29,826 in 2018/19 academic years respectively.