Court suspends teachers strike for 90 days amid resistance from unions

The ongoing teachers’ strike has been suspended for 90 days.

The Court of Appeal said that despite the strike being legal, it stands suspended for 90 days until the dispute surrounding their pay rise is resolved.

The Court further warned the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) from victimizing any teacher and pay them their salaries for the month of September which they have been on strike.

In the ruling, Justice Nelson Abuodha ordered TSC and the Labour Cabinet Secretary to appoint an independent conciliator in 30 days to resolve the teachers’ salary increment dispute.

The Judge said that after 90 days, any party would be free to raise issues.

In his ruling, Justice Abuodha said the ongoing teachers’ strike is legal and declined to issue orders prohibiting it.

A representative from the office of the Attorney General Wanjiku Mbiu confirmed that special gazettement is possible Friday, over re-opening of schools.

The suspension of the teachers’ strike comes as a relief for many students and parents, with the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examinations (KCSE) set to begin on Monday, September 28^th.

The teachers’ strike has been ongoing for four weeks, with various organizations calling on the government to give the teachers their pay increment.

Teacher’s downed their tools at the beginning of September over the pay dispute paralyzing learning activities in all public schools across the country.

On Sunday during a televised address, President Uhuru Kenyatta said Kenyans would have to dig deeper into their pockets through higher taxes if government is to implement the 50 to 60 percent pay increase for teachers.

President Kenyatta said the government cannot afford the pay rise, terming it unsustainable.

President Kenyatta said the current wage bill is already too high and such a salary increase for the striking teachers would further strain the economy.

President Kenyatta’s statement was a blow to the teachers who are seeking a salary increment from the government.

The President’s statement evoked the reaction of different quarters, with CORD leader Raila Odinga accusing President Kenyatta of dishonesty in his apparent refusal to pay teachers saying the government has enough revenue collection to sustain teachers’ salary demands.

“In 2012/13, the last year of the grand coalition government, our tax revenue was Ksh 807 billion, in the last financial year it was Sh1.16 trillion and it is projected to stand at Ksh 1.25 trillion this financial year,” he said.

“In the 2015/16 financial year, the country’s budget was Ksh 443 billion more than that of the grand coalition and yet the government is telling us that out of this, we cannot afford Sh17 billion for teachers, we disagree.”

Odinga stated that the published budget for the government wage bill in the current financial year is Ksh 329 billion out of a recurrent budget of 987 billion and total budget of Ksh 1.88 trillion translating to 33 per cent as recurrent expenditure, 26 per cent as revenue and Ksh 17.5 per cent as the total budget.