The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has suspended the nationwide teachers’ strike that had entered its second week on Monday, September 2.
Addressing the press, KUPPET secretary General Akelo Misori asked all the teachers to report to work immediately.
Misori said the decision to call off the strike followed the Court Order that suspended the industrial action, but the union had remained defiant.
KUPPET officials met the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) before ending the strike that was slowly degenerating into a national crisis.
“In compliance with the Court order, we suspend the strike and ask all our teachers to go back to class pending speedy resolution of these matters as already agreed upon between us and the Teachers Service Commission,” said Misori.
TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia, who was present during the press conference confirmed that the Commission and KUPPET agreed to iron out the issues through Alternative Dispute Resolution.
“We are happy to report that we have reached an amicable settlement which will enable our teachers to resume duty immediately,” noted Dr. Macharia.
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TSC, KUPPET Deal over industrial action
In addition, the TSC CEO assured teachers that the government had honored its 201 pledge and availed funds for the implementation of the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) from July 1, 2024.
According to Macharia, all the teachers in the country had benefited from the same, including the clearance of salary arrears, which was one of the contentious issues raised by teachers’ unions.
She added, “The government has therefore implemented all the provisions of the 2021/2024 CBA with the teacher unions, specifically the second phase of the CBA, which was due on July 1, 2024, was duly paid, in August 2024 together with arrears.
KUPPET announced a countrywide teachers strike on August 26, when schools resumed for the third and final term of the current academic calendar.
On its part, the Kenya National Union of Teachers, KNUT, the umbrella body for all primary school tutors in the country, suspended its planned industrial action on August 25. The Collins Oyuu-led union made the move to allow talks with the government.
Also Read:Â KUPPET Announces Nationwide Strike as TSC Rejects Talks
However, Misori stood his ground, saying he was ready to go to jail and asked parents to withdraw their children from schools since teachers were not responsible for their safety.
Notably, hours before KUPPET called off the work boycott and agreed to resume work, several secondary schools across the country had begun closing, signaling a national crisis.
Third term is the shortest, with secondary school candidates set to sit their national test, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education – KCSE in less than two months. Â
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