Knut defies court, declares strike on : The Standard

The Kenya National Union of Teachers has defied the court and declared that the strike by its members will begin today ahead of the opening of schools tomorrow. Even as the battle between the union and the tutors' employer - the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) - shifted to the courts, where the latter obtained orders stopping the strike, Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion, who spoke in Nairobi yesterday, said the directive would not stop the union's members from participating in the strike. “There is no strike that has taken place in this country without court orders. Court orders don’t stop employees from going on strike. We are going to start the biggest strike ever tomorrow,” said Mr Sossion after an aborted conciliatory meeting with TSC. Insisting that teachers were only exercising their rights as enshrined in the Constitution, Sossion accused their employer of using courts to intimidate them.

SEE ALSO :Teachers honoured for exam ethics

“We had obeyed the court which directed that we meet today to resolve this matter. But the absence of TSC is a clear testimony that they are not ready for reconciliation. This gives us a blank cheque to proceed with the strike tomorrow.” He called on teachers not to be moved by the court order or cowed by threats to sack them. TSC on Monday obtained a court order restraining Knut officials, members, employees, agents or any other persons acting on their behalf from implementing the strike notice. Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani on Monday directed Knut and TSC to continue cooperating with a conciliatory committee to secure an amicable solution to avert the strike. But Sossion insisted that unless teachers were promoted, transfers revoked and performance contracting stopped, the strike was inevitable.

SEE ALSO :TSC sacks 32 teachers for engaging in sex with pupils

“Promotion of teachers is non-negotiable. TSC has the names of the teachers who should be promoted. It cannot continue to consume billions of taxpayer's shillings and fail to promote teachers,” Sossion said. He also asked TSC to consider the appeals of teachers who are not willing to be transferred. He accused TSC of ignoring President Uhuru Kenyatta's advice urging the two sides to resolve contentious issues amicably. “The President last Saturday asked TSC to ensure the stalemate has been resolve before schools reopen for the first term. But TSC has defied the directive even from the Head of State,” he said. He said the union would go to court today to challenge the order as teachers continued with the strike.

SEE ALSO :We must improve the quality of teaching in public primary schools

“Let us meet in court but we will not take part in the performance contracting where teachers spend more time out of class filling forms. We will continue using the pedagogical skills we have to teach as we engage in continuous capacity building,” Sossion said. The TSC's head of communications, Kihumba Kamotho, said when the Monday meeting ended (around 8pm), there was no scheduled conciliation meeting the next day (yesterday). “Knut should stop its publicity stunts. They cannot play the moral card while at the same time specialising in holding learners and parents at ransom every beginning of the term or when exams are round the corner,” Mr Kamotho said. He said in October last year, Knut stalled negotiations on the same issues by making impossible demands that their union officials be exempted from transfer, yet they served under the same terms as all teachers. Kamotho said Knut was insincere as some of the teachers who had been transferred were on promotion from deputies to principals.

SEE ALSO :Sportscar maker cancels engine supply plans

Parents have opposed Knut's strike notice and promised to challenge it in court. “It is unlawful to defy a court order. We will move to court to challenge this as we and our children also have rights under our Constitution,” said Nicholas Maiyo, chairman of the National Association of Parents. Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) leaders said they would not participate in the strike as they were not opposed to the delocalisation policy. "We are meeting on Thursday (tomorrow) in Nairobi to review our position on this matter, but we support the delocalisation policy because we are public servants and are contracted to work anywhere in the country," said Zablon Awange, Kuppet executive secretary for Kisumu County.

Related Topics

Knutteachers strikeTSCWilson Sossion