The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has accused its employer the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of plotting to kill the union by depriving them of funds.
While releasing its end year media brief, the unions boss Wilson Sossion, flanked by the union’s National Chair Wycliffe Omuchei, National Treasurer John Matiang’i amongst other National Union officials, Sossion accused TSC of crippling the union by deregistering more than 80 thousand teachers from the union and failed to remit union dues to the Union, a move he said was not only aimed at crippling operation of the union but also aimed at ensuring the union totally collapsed.
He noted that these activities could jeopardize negotiations, as in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement agreed on by both parties, KNUT and TSC, all agreed to ensure expeditious settlement of reported industrial grievances, and strictly observe dispute handling mechanism as recommended in the 2017/2021 CBA, which KNUT accuses TSC of vacating.
‘We are appealing to our employer TSC to reinstate over 80 thousand teachers who were forcefully, unlawfully and maliciously offloaded from KNUT membership register. Failing to deduct union dues has starved KNUT, hence crippling the union operations completely. We could not hold the 62nd Annual Delegates Conference for lack of funds. This is a strong indication of wide and well-choreographed stragety to kill KNUT,’ Sossion said.
Sossion also decried the transfer of teachers under the Teacher Delocalization programme saying it was hurting families and that the programme must be stopped for teachers were not Civil Servants.
KNUT also wanted TSC to do away with the Union Membership Validation exercise through a digital platform saying the coimmission was targeting members to exit KNUT and that the commission was doing that at the existence of an active court order stopping the same.
“By virtue of being teacher’s employer and regulator, TSC should exercise exceptional degree of civility and professionalism and also serve as a role model by observing and obeying court orders and ruling as issued by the Emplyoment and Labour Realations Court. In the last 11 months, TSC has defied, ignored over 10 court orders that had stopped unjustified implementation of several policies. This is impunity of the highest order, and must come to an end,” Sossion added.
On the Building Bridges Initiative report, Sossion appealed to Kenyans and the teaching fraternity to support the process saying that it was good governance that stood to have the country enjoy peace and see the economy grow.
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