Longer holiday for learners as Knut endorses work boycott

Teachers will not resume work in January, delegates unanimously resolved Tuesday during their annual conference in Nairobi.

The National Executive Council of the Kenya National Union of Teachers will now meet to issue the strike notice.

Knut secretary-general Wilson Sossion said attempts to avert the strike had not been successful after the government failed to table any offer at 26 meetings held since October 2012.

Mr Sossion, however, said the government could still avoid a classes boycott if it moved fast to make an offer before the end of the year.

“The onus of averting the strike is on the government side. We have 40 demands and we expect the government to give an offer,” he said.

The secretary-general told parents to prepare to have their children at home for a longer period, saying that they would not go back to work until they get an offer.

Mr Sossion also appealed to members to save their December salaries and be prepared for tough times ahead.

GROSS CONFUSION

“We have not seen the government table any offer, not even a cent. We were given a working document, which was later withdrawn in the course of the negotiations.”

Mr Sossion accused the government of gross confusion that had led to the collapse of the talks.

“It has never happened in the world for an employer to fail to table a salary offer. We have been expecting an offer, but what we have got is disappointment,” he said and further accused the government of employing delaying tactics to deny teachers their rights, citing the introduction of job evaluation requirements.

“They should have concluded the job evaluation before coming for negotiations. You cannot introduce it in the middle of the talks,” Mr Sossion said.

JOB EVALUATION

The government knew the job description of teachers, and as such, the planned job evaluation was not necessary, he said.

Teachers did not negotiate with the Treasury, but their employer, the Teachers Service Commission, he added.

“The government is using a rival union, TSC, Salaries and Remuneration Commission, the Treasury and job evaluation to derail salary talks,” the Knut chief said.

The last time teachers secured a comprehensive Collective Bargaining Agreement was 1997, he said. Since then they have focused on its implementation.

During the pay talks in November, the government only gave teachers a comprehensive medical cover.

The government has been holding salary talks with teachers under the auspices of the Committee on Terms and Conditions of Service, a statutory body to negotiate teachers’ pay chaired by Mr Joseph Obonyo.

TSC is represented by secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni. Other members are Mr Sossion, Knut chairman Mudzo Nzili, Knut national treasurer Abanus Mutisya and Kuppet secretary-general Akelo Misori.

Representatives of the ministries of Labour, Public Service, Education and National Treasury also sit on the committee.

According to the TSC, the teachers’ wage bill stands at Sh161 billion per year and the increase could push it further.

Teachers have demands on about 40 items, including raising basic salary by 200 per cent and house allowance to 50 per cent of basic salary.