KNUT Issues Conditions for Reopening Of Schools in January
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has listed conditions that they feel must be addressed before schools reopen in January 2021.
KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) have been locked in a tussle that has gone on for a long time. The National Intelligence Service and the umbrella union Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) have also been pulled into this conflict between KNUT and TSC.
Sossion launched a case for industrial action in a letter dated November 13 that he forwarded to TSC CEO Nancy Macharia and made reference to a series of letters between TSC and the union.
In Sossion’s letter to the higher offices, he attached copies of correspondence sent to Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, Cabinet Secretaries George Magoha (Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education) Fred Matiangi (Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Coordination of National Government), Simon Chelugui (Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Labor) and Ukur Yatani (Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Finance).
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He indicated the details of the disagreements between KNUT and TSC and issued ultimatums for unspecified action.
“You three weeks to solve all the failures of which the union shall take stern action against you as provided in Article 41 of the Constitution without any further reference to you,” said Sossion. The issue was the implementation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations between TSC and KNUT.
“We wish to mention that you elected to mismanage the CBA that is currently under implementation and begun the next CBA in an unprocedural manner,” said Sossion.
KNUT also notified TSC yesterday to pay all teachers under its register all salary arrears for the duration they were not allowed a pay rise. Session also implored TSC for immediate promotions of all KNUT members who were due for upgrades but were not upgraded due to being KNUT members.
“If they do not pay teachers their dues and also fail to promote all the teachers who qualified and were denied the chance then we shall have no business opening schools,” said KNUT Sec-Gen Wilson Sossion.
The KNUT Sec-Gen accused TSC of unilaterally suspending the 2017 2021 CBA for its members and blocking them off their benefits.
“You persistently kept excluding members of KNUT from benefitting in the same CBA and locked out all our members from any form of promotional rights in addition to messing up our membership register,” said Wilson Sossion.
He urged TSC to reinstate the KNUT register as it was in June 2019 before schools reopen fully. He also said that from June 2019 to now, the union lost over Sh. 1.2 billion in monthly dues after its membership reduced from 187,471 to less than 50,000 teachers.
TSC dismissed the accusation saying that teachers quit KNUT on their own accord.
Sossion said that no teacher will report to class on January 4 when schools reopen.
“We demand that TSC begins fresh talks on the next 2021 – 2023 CBA, and job evaluations are done for the teaching staff,” added Sossion.
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