Learning in public schools across the country could be paralyzed after teachers issued a strike warning ahead of the reopening for third term in August over salary.
While attending the Special games competitions in Busia County, Moffat Okisai from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) stated that schools would not reopen if the government would not have met their collective bargaining Agreement (CBA)terms which were to be effective in July,2024.
“We are closing schools by Friday and incase the government of the day, is not going to honor the last phase of our CBA of 9.5% schools will not reopen,” declared Okisai.
While citing the importance of educators in the country, chairperson asked for the implementation of a circular issued on 7th August to the Salaries Remuneration commission (SRC) for both public officers and teachers.
Teachers Issue New Strike Threats
The Kenya National Union of teachers (KNUT) had threatened to initiate a nationwide strike if the national treasury did not reverse its decision to slash Ksh 10 billion from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
Also Read: KNUT Rejects Ruto’s Education CS Nominee; Cites Reasons
Earlier, KNUT Chairperson Charles Karinga had called for a strike, terming the deduction of TSC funding as immoral and illegal.
Karinga, noted that the CBA had not been honored by the government and emphasized that it should live up to its promises.
“Teachers are therefore called on by TSC to use all means within its reach to ensure that agreement which is legal and still biding is honored through compelling the National Assembly to approve TSC Ksh357 billion budget without Amendment if this one is not met, we may do the otherwise,” called on Karinga.
Earlier, KNUT Secretary General (SG) Collins Oyuu said the CBA as a legal document had been signed between TSC and Knut in 2021 and was termed so by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
TSC Announces Strike
KUPPET accused the government of implementing the most ambitious rollback of social spending since independence, regretting that the scale of cuts to the education budget had no parallels in history.
The unions raised alarm on the government’s move to employ 20,000 new teachers and convert 46,000 interns to permanent and pensionable terms.
Also Read: KNUT Demands Salary Review for Teachers
The strike threats came months after Junior Secondary School interns held protests in different parts of the country to push TSC to employ them under permanent and pensionable terms.
On May 12, Nairobi County JSS interns Chairperson Owino Okelo led the teachers in a protest from the Nairobi bus terminus to TSC headquarters.
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