Teachers ready to down tools, Kuppet warns

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has issued a seven-day strike notice.

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori issued the notice in a letter to Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua saying the issues they notified him on August 12 had not been addressed.

Should their grievances not be addressed by August 25, Misori said their strike will commence on August 26, when schools are expected to resume for third term.

“The notice will expire on August 25. In the meantime, we remain available and committed to taking part in any negotiations to mutually resolve the issues we have raised,” said Misori in the letter dated August 19.

Yesterday, the new Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Migos described the timing of the strike as bad since schools will be opening for the third term when national examinations are written.

He said the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and unions had opened discussions to avert a crisis.

"The teachers concerns are legit and the government's challenges are also legitimate so we have to sit together and have genuine conversations," he said.

Among the issues the union said TSC has failed to fulfill include full implementation of the 2021/25 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Misori demanded that the TSC must discharge its legal responsibilities and immediately remit the teachers’ emoluments for last month, including basic salaries and allowances as provided under the agreement.

The union wants the commission to confirm promotion of 130,000 teachers who have stagnated in their current job grade.

“These teachers were already shortlisted and interviewed for new grades in 2023 but failed to get their appointments due to lack of a budget for their promotions,” said Misori.

Kuppet is also concerned about teachers’ medical cover, saying the scheme had almost collapsed despite allocation of Sh15 billion in the current financial year for this purpose.

“Our members’ insurance cards are honoured only in public hospitals, which are few and often have no drugs or medical personnel. The TSC must urgently live to its commitments under the scheme contract and restore healthcare services to our members,” insisted Misori.

 Kuppet also wants immediate transition of all intern teachers to permanent status effective last month.

The union called for recruitment and appointment of 20,000 new teachers on permanent and pensionable terms to address the deficit in junior secondary schools.

On Friday, President Ruto urged the National Treasury, TSC, teachers and lecturers unions to iron out issues which have led to strike notices.

“Treasury, TSC and the teaching fraternity should sit and look at the possibility of ensuring that we implement our commitment as government and thus avoid unnecessary industrial action and interruption in our learning institutions,” said Ruto.