Nakuru Court orders permanent jobs for 14 teachers

NAKURU, KENYA: Nakuru County government has been ordered to offer 14 youth polytechnic instructors permanent jobs.

Justice Stephen Radido on Tuesday directed the instructors to be put on permanent and pensionable terms and benefits backdated to July 2015.

The 14 sued the county government for failing to give them permanent terms as directed, especially after their colleagues were absorbed into the workforce.

They had been given three-year contracts by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in May 2011.

The contracts expired in 2014 and the Ministry of Education said they would be extended for six months effective May 25, 2014. Further extensions were made in April 2015.

However, this went against an agreement between the Council of Governors, the ministries of Education and Devolution, the Directorate of Public Service Management and the County Public Service Board Forum in December 2014.

The agreement stated that the officials should be given permanent jobs.

During the meeting at which the deal was hammered out, it was agreed that the Education ministry would work with the National Treasury to extend contracts for 1,274 instructors. The contracts had expired between November 2014 and June 30, 2015.

BRIDGE SHORTFALL

The efforts were aimed at bridging the shortfall of qualified personnel in the polytechnics.

County governments were required to set money aside to absorb staff in the Economic Stimulus Programme, to which the instructors belonged, starting in 2015. County secretaries were informed in a letter dated December 15, 2014.

Later, the County Public Service Board granted the 14 instructors one-year contracts in July 2015 instead of absorbing them permanently as agreed.

In response, they sued the board, accusing it of discriminating against them by absorbing their colleagues and leaving them out.

The board, the Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Education, who were the defendants, failed to respond to the petition.

Yesterday, Justice Radido of the Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered the applicants hired on permanent and pensionable terms.

“It is not in dispute certain functions, initially carried out by the national government, were devolved with the coming into effect of the new constitution in 2010,” the judge said.

During inter-party hearings, the testimony of one of the petitioners, George Ogega, was not disputed. Mr Ogega had told the court that their colleagues were granted permanent employment while they were left out.

The judge said there was no lawful reason why the board refused to grant the instructors permanent jobs.