TSC on the spot on union deductions for visually impaired teachers.
The Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) has been met with stiff resistance by representatives of the Kenya Visually Impaired Teachers’ Association (KEVIT) due to the automatic deduction of 1.5% of their pay as agency fees to the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).
The teachers contend that the union does not represent their interests and that they never registered as KUSNET members.
Mbugua Kamau, the chair of KEVIT, recalled his involuntary transfer from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to KUSNET in February 2022 during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, which was presided over by Senator Julius Murgor.
He criticized the T-Pay online platform for not having an exit KUSNET option, which teachers use to oversee third-party deductions.
Nancy Macharia, CEO of TSC, who was present at the meeting, disputed Kamau’s assertions.
She maintained that teachers have complete control over union-related deductions through the T-Pay system, with the ability to approve or disapprove any deductions as necessary.
According to Macharia, “teachers can control individual transactions with the T-Pay system by approving any third-party deductions they wish to be applied to their payslips.”
“In a similar vein, all it takes for a teacher to leave a union is to log into the T-Pay system and stop the deduction.”
Senator George Mbugua, the vice-chairperson of the Labour Committee, questioned Macharia about how KUSNET, which has just 52 registered members, was able to obtain agency fees from 2,433 teachers.
Macharia responded by elaborating that TSC, in accordance with an order from the Minister of Labour and the Labour Relations Act, deducts union dues from registered KUSNET members and agency fees from teachers who benefit from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiated by KUSNET.
Geoffrey Wachira of KEVIT contested this, questioning the veracity of KUSNET’s assertion that it had negotiated advantages under the CBA.
He maintained that several perks, such as the Disability Guide Allowance, were in place prior to KUSNET’s participation.
Is it possible for someone to argue for something that already exists? The Disability Guide Allowance, for example, existed prior to KUSNET. How were they going to bargain for something that already existed? Wachira enquired.
Senator Crystal Asige pressed the TSC for documentation demonstrating the teachers’ approval to have KUSNET withhold money from their pay.
In closing, Senator Murgor emphasized that the freedom of workers to select their union representation is at the center of the dispute. He asked TSC to uphold this liberty and raise teachers’ awareness of union dues and agency costs.
Sen. Asige requested a statement about the registration of teachers with impairments into KUSNET without their consent, and the committee met in response.
TSC on the spot on union deductions for visually impaired teachers.
