- The unions demanded full implementation of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or order industrial action.
- The government reduced the recurrent budget of TSC by Sh10.2 billion.
Image: FILE
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has issued demands to the government before the strike.
Kuppet has issued a seven-day strike notice for the planned strike expected to start on August 26, 2024.
They have asked the government to meet several demands before the strike.
Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori said teachers should be assured of the security that their promotion is guaranteed.
"Our medical cover is enhanced because it is only teachers who do not have group life cover while all other public servants are enjoying group life cover. It is unfortunate and this is something which must happen," he said.
Misori said that by now, the Teacher Service Commission should have employed 46,000 intern teachers.
"The teachers were improperly engaged under bad labour practice of having professionals as interns," he said.
Misori cautioned parents from taking their children to school because teachers will be on strike.
"This is something which the teachers of the country and this organ have mandated me to tell the whole country that there is no teacher in school and therefore any parent sending the children to school on August 26, 20204 will be doing so at their peril because there will be no teachers in school," he added.
On August 7, Kuppet and Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) cited the steady deterioration of conditions of work over the commission's alleged rescinding of past agreements.
The unions demanded full implementation of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or order industrial action.
The government reduced the recurrent budget of TSC by Sh10.2 billion.
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia appeared before the Departmental Committee on Education on May 14 and 15, 2024, and submitted that the overall recurrent budget of the commission had been reduced by 10,281,147,858.
As a result of the reduction, Macharia said there would be a delay in implementing the second phase of the 2021-2025 CBA between TSC and teacher unions, which had been allocated Sh10 billion.
Committee chair Julius Melly said in a report the total of this was that teachers may resort to strikes and disruption of teaching and learning in public schools as well as litigations in courts.
“The implication of this is that teachers will not receive salary increments envisaged in the CBA,” he said.
“Industrial unrest is something which this government may not wish to deal with at this time given the current unease situation in the country hence the need to ensure that this allocation is provided,” the committee advised.