The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has called teacher trade unions to discuss a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), three days after Wilson Sossion resigned from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).
TSC Chief Executive Officer, Nancy Macharia, on Monday, June 28, announced that the talks will be held at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi starting the next day.
Sossion, while quitting as KNUT Secretary-General, lamented that TSC had frustrated teachers due to his hardline stances on championing teachers' rights.
He urged relative government ministries, Treasury and Labour, to expedite teachers' dues now that he was out of office.
One of the major squabbles between KNUT and TSC was the promotion of teachers and salary increments. The current CBA (2017-2021) is poised to expire in July 2021 and failed negotiations between the employer and teachers raised doubts over their future.
KNUT, Kenya Union of Special Needs Education teachers (KUSNET) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUSNET) called on TSC to act and lay down strategies for the 2021-2025 CBA.
"There is currently no new CBA for teachers. They will, therefore, miss their salary increment and promotions," Sossion lamented while heaping pressure on TSC to face teachers before the deadline arrives, prior to quitting office.
TSC, meanwhile, swore in a selection panel tasked with recruiting five new commissioners. The recruitment process seeks to replace Commissioners Mbarak Twahir, Kinoti Imanyara, Beatrice Adu, Albert Ekirapa, and Tache Gollo whose terms expired in March.
The selection panel includes; Thomas Koyier, Dr. Mary Gaturu – Ministry of Education, Charles Mutinda – Attorney General’s office, Njoki Kahiga – Ministry for Public Service, Margaret Lilian Geno –Federation of Kenya Employers, Richard Kibagendi, and Dr. Hellen Hazel Misenda – representing the registered Teachers’ Trade Unions, Eva Naputuni Nyoike – Association of Private Schools; and Prof. Stanley Waudo.
Public Service Commission (PSC) Vice Chairperson Charity Kisotu told them that "You must also pay attention to issues of diversity and inclusivity and ensure they are given as much consideration in the selection process and at the end of the assignment, the names you forward to the President should reflect Kenya’s diverse communities.
"I, therefore, call upon you to ensure a high threshold of integrity, ethical standards, and professionalism are met as you embark on this assignment."
