Commission termed state of affairs as a demonstration of bad faith

 
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut)Secretary General Wilson Sossion accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of failing to attend a critical mediation meeting called by the Ministry of Labour.

But TSC insisted that both the conciliator and members of Knut were not at the venue of the meeting at the appointed time.

“As a matter of fact, the boardroom where the meeting was scheduled to take place was locked. TSC team called the conciliator and sent her text messages which all went unanswered. Efforts to trace the conciliator, even in her office on the third Floor of NSSF Building, were unsuccessful,” said TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia.

The commission termed this state of affairs as a demonstration of bad faith even before the commencement of the engagement by the parties.

The union has declared a trade dispute over stalled promotion of teachers who have acquired new academic papers, the mass transfers and the ongoing performance appraisal tools.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani appointed Hellen Maneno to preside over the meeting in an effort to resolve the stalemate. Sossion said some 30,000 teachers who acquired higher qualifications since 2014 are yet to be recognised by the employer. Sossion said teachers’ affairs were being run unprofessionally and hinted of a nationwide strike to compel TSC to the table. 

“Teachers in the country cannot continue suffering in the hands of an employer who only takes care about its interests. It is time we call a spade a spade. Action has to be taken,” said Sossion during a press conference in Nairobi.