By Ally Jamah
Kenya: In a last ditch effort to break the teachers’ strike, Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi ordered tutors to go back to class or face the sack.
But the giant Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) dismissed the warning saying its members are employed by the Teachers Service Commission which is independent and warned that strong-arm tactics by the Government would not work.
Kaimenyi Monday said “all teachers who wish to remain in employment” should resume duty today “without fail” in compliance with the Industrial Court issued on July 1.
“Despite a signed agreement between TSC and Knut, the union has reneged on the negotiation offer and chosen to disobey the court order and act in contravention of the law. The law allows an employer to take disciplinary action against an employee who participates in an illegal strike,” Prof Kaimenyi told a news conference in Nairobi.
Prof Kaimenyi asked all qualified teachers to register themselves in the District Education Offices from Friday.
But he was quick to add that the move was not meant to replace striking teachers, but to meet the Government commitment to employ 10,000 more teachers this year.
But Knut chairman, Wilson Sossion, dismissed the threat saying the law protects the strike adding that such warnings only poison the spirit for resolving the strike that is in its fourth week.
“Negotiations have been going on well under the leadership of the Ministry of Labour and Prof Kaimenyi should not come with unilateral statements and threats to spoil the atmosphere,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Sossion and Knut acting Secretary General Mudzo Nzili had appeared at the Industrial Court for the hearing of a contempt case filed against them by TSC for failure to call off the strike.
Through their lawyer Chacha Odera, the officials said the union’s National Executive Council (NEC), which is not party to the court proceedings, has the sole power to end the strike.
Authorities issued the latest warning—teachers have defied previous directives threatening a roll call and disciplinary action—as Prof Kaimenyi and Sossion differed on reports of a reached deal between TSC and Knut on Saturday.
Prof Kaimenyi insisted that Knut agreed and signed the deal only to turn back on their word on Sunday.
“After exhaustive negotiations from Friday to Saturday, Knut and TSC reached a return-to-work agreement in which Knut agreed to forthwith call off the strike and continue with negotiations. The Commission and the union signed an agreement,” he said.
On Sunday night, Deputy President William Ruto had accused Knut of reneging on a deal they had agreed with the Government to end the ongoing strike.
Mr Ruto said they were shocked by Knut officials’ statement earlier on Sunday that they were not content with the deal for two-phased payment of contested allowances in Sh16.8 billion deal.
“We had agreed with Kuppet on a three-phased deal but when we sat with Knut they told us we had agreed with others on how we are going to lookgood and effective. They proposed to us that we make it in two phasesand we agreed because we wanted to move on,” Mr Ruto said during a live interview with a TV station.
But Monday, Mr Sossion dismissed the claim of such a deal. “The Government made various proposals to teachers and as union officials, we submitted the proposals to our National Executive Council, which rejected them. How can we agree to a deal that has not been approved by NEC? The Government should stop misleading Kenyans,” he said.
Sossion challenged Prof Kaimenyi to produce the document containing their signatures as evidence of their alleged agreement.
Efforts by The Standard to obtain a copy of the alleged agreement failed after ministry officials directed us to TSC, saying they didn’t have a copy of the same.
Sossion vowed that the strike was still on until Knut reaches a deal that was acceptable to teachers. He said they would not succumb to threats of dismissal.
Prof Kaimenyi said the State had offered Sh16.2 billion to teachers, to harmonise the commuter allowances with that of civil servants, and that the money would be paid in two phases and not three phases as agreed earlier with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).
The responsibility allowance for teachers in Job Group K and below would have been doubled from July 1, including those of Head teachers, Deputy Head teachers and Senior Teachers while for those in job group L would have been negotiated later.
Special schools allowance would have been increased to a flat rate of Sh10,000 and additional 10,000 teachers would have been recruited.
The deal promised to promote teachers in line with their schemes of service as well as give them a medical insurance cover. TSC had agreed not to victimise teachers and that the June salaries for teachers would be released immediately.
All visually impaired teachers in teaching service would be paid a Sh15,000 readers’ allowance per month.
The cabinet secretary said the strike is illegal since the Industrial Court ordered them back to work on July 1. He asked Knut to respect court orders like Kuppet, which accepted the Sh16.8 billion offer.
