Finance minister Githae failed to attend two consecutive meetings convened by the David Koech-led committee to shed light on financial implications of the strike.
Requested postponement
Githae had requested that the meeting be pushed to next week Tuesday, but the House team said the need for children to resume learning is urgent.
Another extended House committee meeting slated for Thursday was also postponed.
Koech said the meeting was aimed at finding alternative sources of funding to meet teachers’ demands with a view to reopening public schools.
Speaking to The Standard Thursday for the first time since the strike began, Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Okuta Osiany asked teachers to stay put. He said the demands of the teachers are manageable by the Government and asked teachers not to relent.
“The Government has money to settle teachers’ demands, but they have even failed to call my team to a mature negotiating table. But let them buy time because teachers will not let this one slip,” he said on phone.
Okuta fell ill a few days to the start of the strike and his chairman, Wilson Sossion has been leading the industrial action that has paralysed learning in public schools. “We will not call off the strike until all our demands are met,” said Sossion.
Knut has been pushing for full implementation of Legal Notice Number 534 of 1997 calling for a 300 per cent salary hike, complete with harmonisation of their pay with those of civil servants.
In its brief to the Government, TSC has advised that some Sh13.5 billion is needed to harmonise teachers’ basic pay with that of public servants.
TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni said this translates to Sh1.12 billion every month.
He also indicated that another Sh29 billion would be needed to fully meet the demands of the unions.
