Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) is facing glory days ahead after thousands of its members returned following change in leadership.
Speaking to the press, KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu revealed that over 6,000 former members of the troubled union had made applications to return into the giant union.
He noted that the applications had been made by the tutors in a span of just two months and that the union predicted that more teachers would be returning soon.
He further noted that the portal had suffered technical failure hence delaying the process of re-application.
“We have noted a trend where teachers are scrambling to return to the union since the employer reopened the Third Party TPAY portal where teachers can exit or re-join union,” noted Oyuu.
The move represents a sharp turnaround four months after teachers and their employer, the Teachers Service Commission signed a new 2021 - 2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The two parties signed a non-monetary deal on July 13, 2021, with basic pay review expected in a year's time.
"Indeed, today is a historic day for all teachers in this republic. We have come out of this day having signed a CBA with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). I would like to tell our teachers that hope is still there.
"We have room to sit with TSC in a review process. Apart from the monetary gains that are not perceived to be there, we have quantified quite a number of gains with TSC in the said CBA. It is known to them as it is known to us that we must review this basic factor on the salary increment," Oyuu stated then.
The changes came in the four months that Oyuu has been in control of the union since taking the mantle from Wilson Sossion, who was forced out, reportedly by the state.
In 2019, the union boasted of a huge membership of over 187,000 that enjoyed representations with regional offices across the country
By the time Sossion was leaving, the membership had dropped to only 12,000.
