Learning in the third term could be disrupted if the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) fails to implement the second phase of the 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement demanded by teachers under their Union
Phase two of the CBA signed in 2021 and an addendum in 2023 becomes effective on July 1, 2024, with phase one – covering salaries and allowances for the teachers – having been implemented already. The CBA was to be implemented in two phases.
Speaking in Trans Nzoia, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General, Collins Oyuu, announced that teachers are set to go on strike on August 26 if their demands are not met.
“TSC has failed to honor the second phase of the CBA, which we signed and filed with the Labour Relations Court,” said Mr Oyuu during the AGM of the KNUT Trans Nzoia branch at the ASK Showground in Kitale.
The Secretary General stated that all of the union’s branches have given the strike a green light, ruling out any further talks with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) regarding the implementation of the CBA.
He also criticized the Teachers Service Commission for employing Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers on an internship basis, calling it a violation of labor rights.
“You can’t hire a qualified teacher on an intern basis. The best TSC could have done was to hire the teachers on a contract basis, pending their transition to permanent and pensionable terms,” said Mr. Oyuu.
He also criticized the job evaluation exercise conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), claiming it unfairly favored headteachers, deputies, and heads of departments, discriminating against other teachers.
“The next job evaluation exercise, to be conducted by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, should treat all teachers equally, whether they hold administrative roles or are classroom teachers,” said Oyuu.
KNUT further demands that the teacher promotion process be streamlined to ensure it is fair and does not automatically result in the delocalization of promoted teachers.
“We want teachers to be promoted within their counties so that they are not subjected to the punishment of staying away from their families when sent to distant areas,” said the Trans Nzoia KNUT Executive Secretary George Wanjala.