Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) chairman Wilson Sossion.
What you need to know:
This is the second time in a row that teachers of public primary and secondary schools have gone on strike at the beginning of the crucial third term when candidates sit for their end-year or final examinations.
The teachers are demanding a 300 per cent salary increment and responsibility allowance for principals, head teachers and departmental heads.
The teachers’ union issued a strike notice to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on August 19, saying the government had failed to honour a return-to-work agreement signed 15 years ago to increase their salaries by high percentages.
Data from the Treasury shows that about 50.8 per cent of Sh218.8 billion public service wage bill was allocated to the Teachers Service Commission in the fiscal year ending June.
However, the teachers’ employer insists that the government has not fully implemented the 1997 agreement as was provided in the subsequent renegotiations in 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009.
University lecturers and doctors have also threatened to go on strike to push for better working terms.
Public school learners returned home on Monday after teachers went on strike demanding better pay despite a court ruling outlawing the industrial action.
This is the second time in a row that teachers of public primary and secondary schools have gone on strike at the beginning of the crucial third term when candidates sit for their end-year or final examinations.
The teachers are demanding a 300 per cent salary increment and responsibility allowance for principals, head teachers and departmental heads.
Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary-general Francis Atwoli supported the teachers’ strike, saying Industrial Court judge Byram Ongaya’s decision cannot be upheld since it was delivered after the seven-day strike notice lapsed on August 26.
“We are prepared to stay out for as long as it takes and we shall continue with this strike until our demands are met,” said Wilson Sossion, the chairman of Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut).
University lecturers and doctors have also threatened to go on strike to push for better working terms.
The teachers’ union issued a strike notice to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on August 19, saying the government had failed to honour a return-to-work agreement signed 15 years ago to increase their salaries by high percentages.
Data from the Treasury shows that about 50.8 per cent of Sh218.8 billion public service wage bill was allocated to the Teachers Service Commission in the fiscal year ending June.
The validity of the deal popularly referred to as legal notice number 534 of 1997 now hangs in the balance after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission directed public employers to adjust expiry dates for standing collective bargaining agreements to June next year, pending negotiations and signing of new ones.
“The Salaries and Remuneration Commission advised the parties to duly engage in collective bargaining following which the commission would give appropriate advice,” said the commission.
However, the teachers’ employer insists that the government has not fully implemented the 1997 agreement as was provided in the subsequent renegotiations in 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009.
“The commission is willing to engage the unions in negotiations on all new demands relating to salaries and allowances for teachers,” said TSC chief executive Gabriel Lengoiboni in a statement.
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