TSC skips meeting with Knut to avert strike : The Standard

The Teachers Service Commission has skipped a meeting with the Kenya National Union of Teachers to avert the looming strike. Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion has said the strike will start on January 2. Teachers want the Government to address their concerns, including suspension of transfers through delocalisation, promotion of staff and the Teachers Procreation Assessment development. Sossion said TSC’s absence signals a go-ahead to continue with the strike.

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In a press statement in Nairobi on Tuesday, Sossion said TSC is frustrating conciliation efforts. “TSC has proved it does not respect anyone in this country,” he said. Sossion said TSC representatives were invited by the Labour CS to avert the looming strike. “We want teachers who are present and happy to deliver quality teaching,” he said. “We cannot promise anything good … if the employer is absent.”

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Sossion said Knut is ready for dialogue with the TSC to address teachers’ problems. Teachers Service Commission rushed to the Employment and Labour Relations court where it obtained orders, temporally stopping the industrial action. The court in the meantime ordered Knut not to honour its strike notice and prevent members from taking the industrial action. But the Secretary General added that court orders will be respected but will not be used to stop them from exercising their right. Sossion said such threats hurt public education.

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The court ordered Knut to present to TSC a list of teachers due for promotion under the prevailing terms and conditions of service, including the prevailing career guidelines and the provisions of the collective agreement and the applicant’s code of regulations for the employer to make appropriate decisions in individual cases. Meanwhile, parents have condemned the planned strike. National Association of Parents (NAP) termed the strike as rushed, irrational, untenable and insensitive to the needs of children. “We condemn the latest strike action by Knut, which has mobilizsed its members countrywide to join in the industrial action,” said NPA chairman Nicholas Maiyo.

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