Teachers’ strike that shook Jubilee leadership

Teachers demonstrate during their strike last June to push for better pay.  [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

The Jubilee government faced its first hurdle mid last year when over 278,000 teachers boycotted work to demand better pay.

The strike, which started in June, came less than 100 days after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were sworn into office, effectively shaking up the new administration.

The giant Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) had hoped to arm-twist the Uhuru administration into honouring the payment of allowances backdated to 1997.

Preceding governments had failed to implement the agreements but this time Knut wanted all teachers’ allowances negotiated over 15 years ago paid at once.

Some Sh47 billion was required to pay the allowances. And to achieve this, Knut demanded the nullification of legal notice No. 16 of 2003 as it amended the allowances as negotiated and gazetted in 1997.

Once the allowances were implemented according to legal notice No. 534 of 1997, all teachers were to take home half of their basic pay as house allowance.

They were also to pocket 20 per cent of their basic pay as medical allowance, and another 10 per cent of their salary towards commuter allowance.

This meant should Knut have succeeded in the quest, the lowest paid teacher in Job Group F would have taken home an additional Sh11,616 at the end of the month. And the highest paid teacher, Job Group R, would have pocketed Sh87,269 in allowances alone.

Knut, however, had other demands. The union wanted an additional recruitment of 40,000 teachers that was to cost the Exchequer Sh15.5 billion.

The union also pushed for the employment of 24,000 Early Childhood Development Education teachers at a cost of Sh5 billion. That was not all. Knut also wanted some Sh4 billion set aside towards the promotion of over 10,000 teachers.

Overall, implementation of Knut’s demands required Sh71 billion.

Separate demands

The rival Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education of Teachers (Kuppet) also pushed for separate demands.

The union wanted harmonisation of commuter and leave allowances at a cost of Sh12.6 billion.

Kuppet officials also wanted Sh3.9 billion set aside for responsibility allowance of high school principals in addition to Sh600 million for teacher development.

Even as teachers through Knut listed their demands and downed their tools, President Kenyatta maintained that there was no money.

Attempts to get the teachers’ union to negotiate failed as Knut maintained it had issued sufficient notice.

What followed were power games that saw Knut’s top leadership taken to court and charged with contempt of court.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Labour ministry and office of the Attorney-General worked to scuttle plans by teachers to draw more than was possible from the Government.

First was a court process that ordered all teachers back to class.  Whereas Kuppet signed a return-to-work agreement with the Government and ordered their members back to class, Knut insisted that their demands must be met even as the Government termed them unrealistic.

The Government then went after Knut’s national chairman Wilson Sossion and acting Secretary General at the time, Mudzo Nzili, for flouting a court order.

TSC threatened not to pay teachers their July salaries if they failed to return to work. The commission’s secretary, Gabriel Lengoiboni, had ordered all county directors to take attendance roll calls.

The thought of teachers missing their July pay shook the Knut leadership as reports emerged that teachers were willing to return to work.

Then came the plan to close schools. This was essentially meant to weaken the strike as the effect would not be felt with students at home.

Knut finally signed a return-to-work formula with the Government after 23 days. Knut agreed to full harmonisation of commuter allowances to be paid in two equal installments with effect from July 1, 2013.

The deal by Kuppet spread this over three phases.

The union also agreed to a 100 per cent increment of the current responsibility allowance with effect from July 1 for teachers in Job Group K and below.

These were to include head teachers, deputy head teachers and senior teachers.

Knut also agreed that teachers deployed to and teaching in designated special schools and units would, with effect from July 1, 2013, be paid a special school allowance at a flat rate of Sh10,000 per month.

The agreement says TSC will have sole responsibility of determining and designating a special school and unit for purposes of this allowance.

Finally, Knut agreed that with effect from July 1, 2013, all visually impaired teachers in teaching service would be paid an all-inclusive “readers’ allowance” of Sh15,000 per month.

No reference was made to employment of teachers, promotions or even any of the legal notices.