Schools reopen as teachers return to class after five-week strike

Schools reopen as teachers return to class after five-week strike

Learners across the country have reported to school two days after the five-week long teachers’ strike was called off.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), who were the conveners of the strike, called it off following a directive by the Employment and Labour Relations Court to suspend the strike for 90 days to allow for discussion between the respective unions and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over salary increment.

The decision by the two unions received cold nod from teachers across the country with some terming the decision as misguided and inconsiderate.

The ruling made on Friday last week, reinforced an earlier call by the court, made a fortnight ago, warning against victimisation of teachers by the TSC and ordering the payment of their September salary.

Teachers Service Commission has, however, not complied with the court’s directive.

TSC is basing its decision to withhold teachers’ pay on the Labour Relations Act, 2007, Section 79(6), which states that an employer is not obliged to pay a worker for services not rendered during a strike.

More than 243,000 teachers missed their September salaries, after TSC withheld their pay. Only 42,973 teachers received the September salaries.

Most of the teachers who were paid were Principals, their deputies and heads of departments, who were in schools during the strike that started in August 31st, 2015.

The court also directed TSC to constitute a committee within 30 days to seek a way out of the standoff which began in June after the Employment and Labour Relations Court awarded teachers a 50 to 60 per cent increment, dating back to July 2013.

Since then, it has been a case of back and forth between TSC and teachers unions KNUT and Kuppet that has seen TSC move up to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in a bid to appeal against the increment.

Both courts have, however, ruled in favour of the increment, ordering a stay on the initial ruling.

Whether the government will budge and comply with the increment demands remains the main question even as Deputy President William Ruto obliquely expressed unwillingness to do so.

In his speech in Nandi County on Sunday, Ruto called on teachers to respect Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) advice on salary increments noting that public servants are paid depending on their jobs, responsibility and qualification.

Ruto intimated that the harmonisation of salaries would unite workers and avoid confrontation adding that all persons with equal qualifications and responsibilities in different sectors must be paid the same.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has in the past also come out clear on the matter, saying effecting the teachers’ pay demand will be detrimental to the country’s economy.

In his state of the nation address last month, President Kenyatta said the government will have to increment taxes from 16 to 22 per cent to be able to meet the budget deficit that would be created by the increment adding that the move would set precedence among public servants.

Even as this happens, parents from Embu County have urged head teachers to reduce the school fees for pupils since they have been away from school for whole of September when the teachers were on strike.

A spot check by Citizen TV in several schools in Nakuru County showed that some teachers reported as early as 7.00AM,  although in some schools only a few had reported.

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tsc KNUT KUPPET Schools re-open

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