Teachers insist on strike as TSC warns boycott is illegal

What you need to know:

Yesterday the TSC said it had not received any strike notice from the teachers as required by law to legalise their boycott.
Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion said the government “should not pretend that it had no money, yet it could seal loopholes through which billions were being lost every year.”

Public schools reopen today amidst a crisis after unionists vowed there would be no learning until they are paid Sh1.4 billion ordered by the Supreme Court.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has called on teachers to stay away from class until the pay order is fulfilled. The government has, on the other hand, asked the teachers to be patient as it looks for a way to pay the amount.

The Supreme Court upheld a decision of the Court of Appeal requiring the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to pay the tutors the increment. Yesterday the TSC said it had not received any strike notice from the teachers as required by law to legalise their boycott.

“Teachers are expected to report to work on Monday as usual. There are procedures that must be followed for teachers to go on strike and that has not been followed,” said TSC head of communication Kihumba Kamotho.

READ: Teachers give State 5 days to pay Sh1.4bn or face strike

The courts have awarded the teachers a 50-60 per cent salary increase to be distributed over the next four years.

Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion said the government “should not pretend that it had no money, yet it could seal loopholes through which billions were being lost every year.”

The National Executive Council of Knut met about two weeks ago and decided to go ahead with the strike.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers was also quoted saying that there would be no learning as teachers would be absent since the government was yet to honour the pay order.

To accommodate the payment increment in the Budget, the National Treasury has said that there would have to be cuts in development expenditure, or an increase in taxes, or more domestic borrowing.

Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge said that the options were unpalatable since no cash had initially been set aside for the increment.

Parliament’s Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman Mutava Musyimi has said that teachers should not be paid more because they have resisted signing performance contracts despite overwhelming evidence that many of them routinely skip classes.