The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), Machakos branch, has joined their colleagues from other parts of the country on the ongoing national post-primary school teachers' strike.
The branch officials said they had resolved to join the strike with the rest of the teachers to ensure their demands were met
They said the strike was legally protected, and therefore their members shouldn't be afraid of anything and instead fully participate in it.
"We resolve, Kuppet members all over the country are going to move on with the strike. This is a protected strike under Articles 37 and 41 of the 2010 Constitution as well as the Labour Relations Act clause 76(1)," Machakos County Kuppet branch Secretary General Musembi Katuku said.
They addressed the press in Machakos town on Monday.
"I tell teachers, members of Kuppet, that we are on a legal and protected strike. Our teachers have stagnated on one job group for over 15 years under a scheme they call Carriers Progression Guideline (CPG)," Katuku said.
Katuku said TSC should scrap CPG and go back to the earlier scheme of service since the former has stagnated teachers for a long time.
"Most government schools in this county don't have principals because they don't have teachers who have been promoted to assume that principal docket. Many schools in Machakos are operating without principals and deputy principals due to this problem," Katuku said.
"Therefore, we are demanding that these teachers be promoted to occupy the positions. We had agreed that the government should fully implement the CBA signed in the 2021-25 cycle.
"The government had paid for the first phase, and by July this year, it was to finalise the second phase, which hasn't been done. They say they have agreed to give that money, but we have not received it."
The officials also raised concerns about the plight of 46,000 JSS teachers, who they said must be hired by the government on permanent and pensionable terms.
They argued that the teachers had been hired by TSC on a contract basis contrary to TSC and the Employment Act.
"We don't have to employ teachers on contract basis, we demand confirmation of 46, 000 JSS teachers, this must be done before we call off this strike," Katuku said.
Katuku claimed teachers' payslips were subjected to third-party deductions, which they were equally opposed to.
He said that for this reason, most teachers had been listed by the CRB and they can't borrow from any financial institutions in the country.
Machakos County Kuppet Chairman Benard Warui said teachers from the county were tired and ready to move on with the strike.
"Teachers in Machakos County are saying they will be with the rest of the teachers in this country to make sure that they get their demands met. We insist that TSC, led by Nancy Macharia must respect the teachers in this country," Warui said.
