After teachers issued a strike notice, TSC and KNUT met on August 21st but are yet to agree. The TSC invited the 3 teacher’s unions Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and KUSNET to discuss the issues in a meeting held on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
Despite meeting TSC, KNUT and KUPPET have announced that their nationwide strike which is set for Monday, August 26, 2024, will proceed as scheduled.
“Regrettably, the Commission has once again failed to address our concerns. The Commissioners brought absolutely nothing tangible in five out of six irreducible demands we have made,” the unions said in the statement signed by KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori and his KNUT counterpart Collins Oyuu.
President Ruto’s Stand
President William Ruto had earlier, on June 16th, 2024, directed the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to hold talks with the unions to resolve the long-standing issues affecting the welfare of public school teachers.
“The Treasury, TSC and the teaching fraternity should sit together and look at the possibility of ensuring that we implement our commitment as government and thus avoid unnecessary industrial action and interruption in our learning institutions,” the President said during the State Concert for the Kenya Music Festival at the Eldoret State Lodge on Friday.
The directive came on the back of a strike notice issued by the teachers’ unions over the contentious issues.
There is a possibility of students infiltrating the planned lecturers and teachers’ strike. This has pushed the government to avert the looming industrial action.
Local sources also advise that university students may also join, recreating another round of Gen Z demonstrations. An urgent stakeholders meeting with the Ministry of Labour and TSC was held but the teacher’s unions have held their ground and insisted that the strike is still on.
Teacher’s Demands
The first phase was to be implemented by June 30, 2024, and the second phase was effected on July 1, 2024.
In a statement, TSC CEO, Nancy Macharia, said that following the discussions, the government provided funds for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the CBA with effect from July 1, 2024.
Among their demands are:
- full implementation of the 2021–2025 CBA (the CBAs were signed in June 2021 and amended by an addendum in August 2023).
- promotion of 130,000 stagnated teachers
- allocation of KSh 15 billion for teachers’ medical cover
- release of teachers’ emoluments for July 2024.
They also want the teachers’ employer to remit all loans and NSSF deductions to the relevant statutory bodies. Since June the commission has deducted the monies but failed to remit them to third-party agents including banks.
Government on their part, said a number of the pressing issues were resolved during the meeting. They include Career Progression Guidelines, 51,232 teachers under promotion, and the provision of enough tools and resources for CBC implementation. Up-to-date remittance of third-party deductions to the respective medical and insurance companies is also underway.
We are yet to see what will happen on August 26th as teachers, through their respective unions, stand their ground. President Ruto is also closely monitoring the scuffle and his orders could change the flow of events.
