Schools will remain closed if teachers are not paid — Wilson Sossion

 Wilson Sossion is KNUT Secretary General

The Supreme Court ruling has sided with the teachers. What do you say?

The ruling was historic. Our first contention was the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to entertain the appeal by the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC), whereas the same employer had filed the appeal at the Court of Appeal. We are pleased the court refused to entertain the appeal.

The ruling of the Court of Appeal remains enforced. We did not take the TSC to court, they did, and we submitted to the court process. The TSC and the government have been shifting goal posts and taking us from one court to the next. This is the final nail that we have hammered.

But there is still the case at the Court of Appeal?

Yes, and we are alive to that fact.But do you know that as it is at the moment, TSC is in contempt of the Court of Appeal? It has gone ahead to process the payroll without factoring in the salaries as ordered by the court of appeal.

Are you saying that teachers were paid earlier than usual?

That was a calculated mischief to defeat the cause of justice. And TSC is nailing itself openly and squarely in broad daylight because the ruling was very clear that if they don’t pay the salaries then they would lose the entire application. They are obligated to pay the basic salaries and arrears. Why did they proceed to process the payroll?

What next then? Now that you have been paid already?

This is a court order, and it’s not new. In fact, it sustains the ruling of the court of appeal. They are advised by lawyers, so whether they prepare two or three payrolls that is immaterial to us. Re-do the payroll and pay as ordered. That is the only thing that will take teachers back to class. In this whole matter we are following the law, they have the capacity to recall the payroll. In July they re-opened the payroll.

What happens if they don’t pay?

Schools will not reopen if teachers are not paid. So TSC, wake up and rise to the occasion. Tell us you have recalled and corrected the payroll factoring in the 50-60 per cent as ordered. But TSC are saying this pay was not factored into the budget.

It is not the business of TSC to avail money. It is in the Consolidated Fund. TSC’s duty is to write to the Treasury and National Assembly to provide. Masquerading as spokesman of Parliament and Treasury is a constitutional mistake. They are directed to write to ask for money, which is their honourable duty. Parliament has said they have not received any writing. Parliament have assured us they will prepare supplementary estimates to cover this.

When you called for a strike in January, Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said Kenyan teachers are already earning over twice compared to other countries in Africa.

What is the economy of Kenya compared to other countries?

You cannot compare pygmies to pygmies. They are not telling us about teachers from South African who earn over ten times the amount our teachers here earn. Who says Kenya’s economy is not the best? If we are talking about vision 2030, we cannot borrow benchmarks of poor countries. We must compare with the best.

If we are talking about 2030, we must invest in education and teachers. 50-60 per cent is modest. It is a teacher moving from 16,000 to 24,000. We thought that was good enough to begin with as we move forward.

How about job evaluation as proposed by The Salaries and Remuneration Commission?

We agree to job evaluation, but is it the business of the SRC? No. The court ruling by the labour and relations court is that it’s the mandate of the Teachers Service Commission. We are not opposed to job evaluating but let it be done by the TSC, not SRC. SRC should not be a worship institution, because it is being made to replace the duty of the Ministry of Labour.That kind of evaluation done by a strange body will devalue and de-professionalise teaching.

Do you think this ruling ends the tussle that has seen countless strikes?

The ruling upholds the ruling of the appeal and labor relations courts. These are three consistent rulings in a space of two months. It is a proper nail that the government should read. They told us in January to comply with court orders, it is now their turn.

Kenyan teachers have never had a collective bargaining agreement. What we are fighting for is a colective bergain agreement which our teachers have never had since the creation of the world. This will be the first of this kind under the new constituion. This is the first, and the others that will follow will be easy to arrive at. Trust me they will be able to attract and retain teachers. With all these in place, I can assure Kenyans that the quality of teaching will be very competitive.

—Transcribed by Irvin Jalang’o