In a fresh push to get the government to hear their demands, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) is considering rallying its members to down their tools just before schools reopen for third term.
Speaking at the Union’s offices on August 6, 2024, KNUT Secretary General, Collins Oyuu explained that the second phase of the 2021 – 2025 Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA) they signed had not yet been implemented.
"It is in the public domain that all is not well in the teaching fraternity. We agreed last year on the amendment of the CBA that was to cut across two phases. Phases one was paid in 2023 July, phase two was to be paid in 2024 July. This has not happened,” Collins Oyuu said.
“A signed agreement in the name of CBA documented in law is not respected that is reason why my teachers are mad.”
Flanked by other officials, the Secretary general revealed that the union had already written to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) demanding a sitting which will be held on August 7, 2024 to deliberate on their grievances.
“We have written to the TSC, this leads to industrial action which might not be escaped in any way,” Oyuu noted.
As part of the requirement to call for a legal industrial action, the KNUT has issued a strike notice to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour.
Should the talks bear no fruits, KNUT will invite the national executive council for a ratification for a go ahead for a nation-wide strike.
“We cannot listen anymore, the issue of deductions that has not been remitted to banks is affecting teachers,” the secretary general stated, asking where is the money they were promised in the CBA agreement.
In their opinion, third term is the best term to push for their demands to be addressed comprehensively.
The officials lamented that the teaching profession has been taken lightly and ignored by the government. They expressed frustrations that the TSC has been turning deaf ears on their demands.
“Is it a crime to become a teacher? Is it a sin to become a teacher? If anything, this is a noble profession,” they noted.
