Ongoing strike is legal, says Sossion
What you need to know:
- Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said it was the Teachers Service Commission that approached the court earlier in the year essentially to stop the industrial action after the strike notices had been issued in December.
- It was, however, after the court’s intervention that Knut and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers agreed not to proceed with the strike to enable the court to handle the basic pay dispute.
- It was also on the understanding that the TSC and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission as well as the unions were going to abide by the outcome of the court process.
Teachers have defended the legality of their strike, saying it has never been revoked since it was initiated last December.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said it was the Teachers Service Commission that approached the court earlier in the year essentially to stop the industrial action after the strike notices had been issued in December.
It was, however, after the court’s intervention that Knut and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) agreed not to proceed with the strike to enable the court to handle the basic pay dispute.
It was also on the understanding that the TSC and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission as well as the unions were going to abide by the outcome of the court process.
STRIKE NOTICES 'IN FORCE'
“It is instructive to note that at no point in time did the unions withdraw the notices leading up to the strike, and, therefore, the said notices remain in full force until such time as they are properly withdrawn,” explained Mr Sossion in his court papers filed yesterday.
The TSC, through lawyer Geoffrey Obura, and the government, through State Counsel Emmanuel Bitta, want the strike suspended until a case they have filed challenging its legality is heard and determined.
The lawyers are of the opinion that since Justice Monica Mbaru had on September 4 stated that the strike was unprotected because the unions had not issued a strike notice, allowing it to proceed would amount to violating the rights of the children in public schools.
The case will be heard today.
