Sossion claims performance contracts will not guarantee teachers promotions

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has told members not to sign performance contracts because they are unregulated.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion said the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) decision to place teachers on performance contracts was ill advised.

Mr Sossion (pictured) instead called for proper legislation before the process is rolled out.

“We know the performance contracts have been ill advised and as such we are asking teachers not to sign them. Placing teachers on performance contracting needs proper legislation and should not be forced down the throats of teachers,” said Sossion.

Speaking yesterday in Amagoro during the Teso Knut branch elections, he said they would collect signatures to petition the removal of TSC commissioners should they insist on the performance contracts.

He claimed the contracts had negative implications on teachers and would deny fair promotions. Sossion further alleged that the contracts demand that teachers have high academic qualifications yet the same would not guarantee promotions.

He said performance contracts had been introduced in developed countries but they were dropped after they failed to realise intended results and wondered why Kenya was insisting on the same.

“We all know the implications of these contracts. Teachers will not get promotions once they attain certain academic qualifications. We want teachers who get more papers to be properly treated and remunerated,” said Sossion.

He further stated that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that teachers are expected to sign at the end of this month should have the 50 to 60 per cent pay increase or else they will decline it. Sossion said teachers had not given up demands for pay increase and asked the government to include this in the CBA.

“We will go and sign a CBA on February 27th. Any CBA that does not have the 50 to 60 per cent increment teachers are demanding will not be accepted and the government had better be ready for the mother of all strikes,” he said.