Moses Kuria accuses unions of ‘economic sabotage’ in teachers’ pay demand

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria has termed the salary demands by teachers as economic sabotage.

Both the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet) have maintained that teachers will remain on strike until the new pay demands are met.

“The demands that (Mr) Sossion and his team are making are nothing but economic sabotage,” the MP said.

Speaking when he accompanied the Kenya Medical Training College Board chairman Philip Kaloki on an inspection tour of the Gatundu Hospital, Mr Kuria claimed Knut officials were getting hefty earnings through deductions from teachers’ salaries hence the push for increased salaries.

He said the union gets Sh132 million every month from teachers’ deductions amounting to Sh1.5 billion yearly and that the officials were targeting Sh2.5 billion from the increments.

FIGHT FOR RETIRED TEACHERS

“Sossion is not fighting for the teachers but (for) his own welfare. He knows when the teachers’ new salaries are paid the union will get Sh2.5 billion in remittances,” Mr Kuria said.

He faulted Knut for failing to push for retired teachers’ dues dating back to 2007 “because he knows the union will not earn anything from them.”

The MP pleaded with teachers to give the government time to pay them and called for the sacking of those who will go on strike.

“Kenyans are tired of threats by Knut calling strikes every year and demands for higher salaries especially when exams are around the corner. Those who go on strike should be replaced,” he said.

He said there are many Kenyans who are qualified to take up the teachers’ jobs.