TSC denies KUPPET’s plea for negotiations to end the current strike.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers’ (KUPPET) plea to halt the ongoing strike has been denied by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The Commission insisted in a letter to KUPPET Secretary Akelo Misori that the Union had to end the work boycott in accordance with the Tuesday court judgment that ended the strike.
The TSC’s Director of Legal Labor and Industrial Relations, Cavin Anyour, encouraged the Union to end the walkout that would prevent students from attending classes, claiming that the commission has already addressed every issue the union had brought up.
According to him, the decision will pave the way for new negotiations to address any other issues brought forward by the teachers union.
“The Commission maintains that in order to allow the parties to proceed with the bipartite negotiations on any outstanding grievances, the Union must comply with the court’s order and withdraw the ongoing industrial action,” he stated.
According to the Teachers Service Commission, the government has allotted Sh13.5 billion for the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which includes paying teachers’ salary arrears beginning on July 1, 2024.
The head of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), Francis Atwoli, also encouraged the Commission to cooperate with instructors affiliated with the KUPPET union to discuss a return-to-work plan. TSC was accused by the tutors of threatening them with a court order to end their strike.
According to Atwoli, the court order would have taken effect only if it had been given prior to the teachers taking down their equipment.
Since the government has already committed to signing the return-to-work formula, TSC should show some humility and sit down to negotiate with KUPPET. The strike will continue if the TSC is unable to hold talks, he declared.
Following the Teachers Service Commission’s application on Monday, August 26, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi issued a ruling ending the secondary school teachers’ strike.
On September 5, 2024, the court ordered the teachers’ union, KUPPET, to resume work awaiting further instructions.
TSC denies KUPPET’s plea for negotiations to end the current strike.
