KNUT hits out at TSC over Blackmail

By Mourice Seretta

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), now wants the teachers employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to immediately release Kshs7 billion it is allegedly holding meant for an earlier signed and agreed upon Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Addressing the media from KNUT Headquarters in Nairobi, the Union’s Secretary General Wilson Sossion flanked by his assistant Clement Gicharu and National Treasurer John Matiang’i said TSC is intentionally and unproceduraly holding the Kshs7 billion out of the total Kshs54 billion allocated to teachers so as to victimise some of the Union’s unionisable members.

Sossion said TSC is holding the cash in anticipation that some KNUT members will renounce their membership after which TSC will release the money, a move Sossion says is primitive, coming from TSC.

“For the last 13 months, execution of two payrolls and instructions to Knut members to renounce their membership through illegal platforms constitutes brazen and blatant attacks on labour rights of teachers who have chosen to be Knut members,” said Sossion.

Sossion also says TSC should not engage in confusion of the CBA pay structure implementation by seeking to abolish the recognition and rewarding of new academic qualifications by bringing on board Career Progression Guidelines which have been nullified by Employment and Labour Relations Court.

‘We now want President Uhuru Kenyatta and Labour CS Simon Chelugui to intervene and help teachers in getting a solution to this matter where TSC has failed to promote qualified teachers and failure to increase some deserving teachers their salaries. The CBA signed between Knut and TSC on July 25 outlines the pay structure of all teachers under employment of the latter and must be paid without any discrimination whatsoever.’ Sossion appealed.

Sossion accused TSC of operating outside the constitution, the TSC Act, the Code of Regulation for Teachers and CBA by wanting to abolish Schemes of Service and introducing Career Progression Guidelines, CPG, which he says is akin to abolishing of new academic qualifications and a scheme to kill KNUT. He vowed that KNUT will not give up its rights to fight for teachers and will not bow down to pressure to silence it in its quest to represent teachers.