KNUT Teachers threaten to strike over withdrawal of annual pay rise New TSC Jobs

Teachers Latest Jobs 2017 and Strike  7 days threat

KNUT has threatened to call a nationwide teachers’ strike in a week over the withdrawal of teachers’ annual salary increments by their employer.

Secretary general Wilson Sossion said the move is against an existing contractual agreement with the Teachers Service Commission under the Collective Bargaining Agreement they signed recently.

“This was never an item of discussion between Kenya National Union of Teachers and the Teachers Service Commission during the CBA negotiations which were concluded,” Sossion said at a press conference at Union headquarters on Thursday.

According to Sossion, TSC scrapped the annual increments effective July 1.

He said KNUT wrote to Labour CS Phyllis Kandie on Friday giving her seven days, to intervene and have TSC revert its decision, failure of which he will call for industrial action.

“These are not new demands. We are not negotiating. We are just insisting on the sustenance of the existing benefits.

“An enemy has invaded out pay slips and we must stop everything first to deal with them,” Sossion said, asking teachers to start “warming up”.

“Doctors were on strike for 100 days and we are prepared to set a new record."

Sossion, who spoke after deliberations with members of the National Executive Council, said the decision by TSC contravenes the constitution, the Employment Act as well as established international Labour Organization conventions.

Further, he accused TSC of refusing to recognise and compensate teachers who have attained higher qualifications aimed at promotions and salary increments since 2014.

“Our efforts over time to resolve the dispute have been in vain,” he said.

Sossion also warned the TSC against delocalising head teachers and principals saying the move is a recipe to destroy families.

He said transferring teachers away from their families and spouses is a key reason why HIV prevalence rates were previously high among teachers.

“We are not ready to let our teachers die by distabilising their families. I think some people are too idle and are now experimenting on teachers. We will not allow it,” Sossion said.

The call for teachers to strike presents a bigger threat to the country’s education sector as it comes just a day after lecturers issued a similar threat over the non-implementation of their 2013-17 CBA.

The Universities Academic Staff Union said on Wednesday it will call a nationwide strike next week Wednesday if the government will not have committed itself to fully implement the CBA.

Secretary general Constantine Wasonga said universities used the Sh10 billion they were given by the government to pay for salary and house allowance arrears between July 2013 to June 2017, then reverted to older rates.