The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has confirmed that the nationwide strike will continue as planned.
This decision follows the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) rejection of the union’s request to end the ongoing strike after they sought a meeting with the commission on Thursday afternoon to discuss a return-to-work formula.
The TSC in its response demanded that secondary school teachers call off their strike in compliance with a court order before any discussions can take place.
The commission insisted that it had implemented the final phase of the 2021-2025 CBA and had paid the teachers’ salary arrears backdated to 1/7/2024.
KUPPET Secretary General Akello Misori has condemned the TSC’s decision, describing it as “dirty tricks” meant to prolong the ongoing strike as part of a scheme to punish the union.
Why KUPPET Reached out to TSC
Misori emphasized that KUPPET’s decision to engage with the TSC was in line with guidance received from various government agencies, including the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education, parliamentary leadership, and the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU).
“In good faith, we wrote to the Commission seeking a meeting as advised by them. To our utter shock, the letter was circulated on social media even before the Commission responded to it,” Misori said.
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“Shortly afterwards, the Commission sent us a response that was clearly calculated to harden the union’s position and prolong the strike. The letter, which was also splashed on social media before we received it, instructed us to call off the strike before engaging the Commission.”
Akello Responds to TSC Demands
Misori questioned why calling off the strike was made a precondition for engagement, and why the TSC reached out to them despite knowing they had not yet done so.
“It is obvious that the Commission was setting us up to portray the union as desperate for a meeting or to give up on the strike,” he said.
“Such dirty tricks only prove that the Commission has no interest in amicably resolving the strike. The TSC’s selfish goal is to teach KUPPET a lesson and assuage the feelings of KNUT which bolted out of the strike under duress.”
The tricks are unfolding amid intense media reporting about the TSC’s intention to punish teachers participating in the strike.”
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Furthermore, Misori alleged that TSC through its agents in the counties are currently misusing the police to harass KUPPET leaders.
“The union’s Executive Secretary for Kakamega, Mr Harrison Otota, was arrested today on trumped up charges. The KUPPET Executive Secretary for Makueni, Mr Justus Kimeu, was assaulted and his car damaged while leading a union procession,” he added.
“The union followed the law in calling this strike, which came only upon the TSC’s failure to respond to their demands. The strike is protected under the law, having been initiated pursuant to Section 76 of the Labour Relations Act.”
The teachers’ strike has entered day 5 despite a court order that suspended the strike pending the determination of a case filed by TSC.
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