Court rules Monday on contempt charge against Knut officials

By Vitalis Kimutai

Nairobi, Kenya: Top Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials return to the Industrial Court Monday despite having called off the three-week teachers’ strike.

Knut chairman Mr Wilson Sossion and Secretary-general Mr Mudzo Nzili are to learn their fate after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) failed to withdraw contempt of court proceedings against the union over the strike. If found guilty, the court may fine Knut Sh20 million, while its over 200,000 members would be fined Sh10, 000 each.

But on the brighter side, teachers in primary schools will receive their June salaries this week, which had been withheld by the employer.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi also ordered that all public primary schools, which he closed last week, be re-opened Monday.

While Knut members have not been paid their salaries, members of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) who obeyed the court order to resume work were paid last week, after their union signed the same deal as Knut.

The latter had accused Kuppet of entering into “an inferior” deal with the Government that saw harmonisation of commuter, medical, responsibility and special allowances within two years.

Leave and house allowances were referred to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) which is working on harmonising the same for all public servants. The collective bargaining agreement for the deal is to be deposited with the Industrial Court in October.

Knut has blamed the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) for allegedly working the Government to scuttle the strike, which would have been the biggest the country has seen in recent times. But Mr Ernest Nadome, a member of Cotu’s executive board, denied claims of sabotage saying Knut failed to heed advice from the umbrella union to obey the court orders and enter into structured talks with the Government.

“When we offered our advice, Knut told us to back off and that is exactly what we have done,” Nadome said. Knut has been at loggerheads with Cotu after the formation of the Federation of Public Service Trade Unions (F-Pusetu) whose formation Sossion and his team backed.  F-Pusetu, which was supposed to rival Cotu and is housed at Knut headquarters, failed to rally the support required from other sectors for the teachers’ strike to succeed.

“Kuppet was used by the government to scuttle the Knut strike and teachers have not benefited from the deal as should have happened, and Cotu has also failed to support the strike for selfish reasons,” alleged Mr Njeru Kanyamba, an F-Pusetu official and former Kuppet secretary-general.

Numerical strength

Kanyamba, who has since been employed by Knut as an executive officer, has been an ardent critic of Kuppet over the deal it signed with the Government.

But Mr James Torome, secretary-general of the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) said the deal was good for the teachers and his members benefited from it. “There is no way Cotu could have scuttled the Knut strike as trade unions operate independently. After eating humble pie, Knut should apologise for calling the other unions ‘small, scavengers and government boys’,” Torome said.

Mr Francis Atwoli, Cotu’s secretary-general, led union officials in paying a call on Ruto days before Knut officials went to see the Deputy President to urge him to intervene in the strike.

“Please intervene in this matter because we have a contempt (of court) case coming up on Monday (Monday) that could sink us,” Nzili told Ruto in the meeting, before the union officials agreed to call off the strike and take the Sh16.2 million offered by the Government.

After the meeting, Ruto said during an interview on Citizen Television: “They (Knut) told us that they needed something to take to their members that could save their face after Kuppet sealed the deal with the Government… and we told them it was important they were honest and realistic in their engagements.”

Mr Akello Misori, Kuppet’s secretary-general, and Mr Edward Obwocha, secretary in charge of secondary schools, said the union was the biggest winner in the strike, which has seen teachers benefit in a short period. “We have shown that we have the capacity to make Knut come out of its slumber,” said Misori.

Obwocha said it was unfortunate that Knut had failed to pursue the Legal Notice Number 534 of 1997 to the end, despite yearly strikes by teachers.

“Knut has failed to use its numerical strength to bargain with the Government. It is Kuppet, which has been seen as the underdog in this game, that has now delivered. This is a classic example of a David versus Goliath contest,” Obwocha said.