TSC in new sack threat as union remains defiant

The teachers’ employer has ordered all striking staff to be in class by 8 am on Monday or be struck off the payroll.

Teachers’ Service Commission chairperson Lydia Nzomo said that due to Friday’s court declaration that the strike which officially began on Wednesday is “unprotected”, any boycotting teacher is prone to disciplinary action.

“Teachers who participate in an unprotected strike cannot claim the protection of employment laws when the employer commences disciplinary action including dismissal from the service,” Dr Nzomo told the Press at the commission’s headquarters.

According to Dr Nzomo, “unprotected” as per the court order means “illegal” strike and those who defy the return-to-work directive “will be deemed to have absconded duty and will be removed from the payroll with immediate effect.”

But a defiant Wilson Sossion, the secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), told the Sunday Nation that there was no order issued on Friday as alleged by Dr Nzomo.

Mr Sossion said no teacher will be reporting to class tomorrow and asked all Knut members to report to branch offices at 8 am for further direction.

On Wednesday, Mr Sossion announced the formal start of the strike and told teachers to abscond duty until they are granted a pay rise of between 50-60 per cent as ordered in June by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.

But on the same day, TSC went to court seeking to bar the declaration of a strike by Knut and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet).

On Friday, Lady Justice Monica Mbaru said “the industrial action by Knut and Kuppet members is declared unprotected” and asked parties in the case to return to court on Thursday for further hearing.

On account of the order, a fiery Dr Nzomo said learners should be recalled immediately.

“All heads of institutions where learners have not reported are now required to recall them over the weekend, ready for lessons on Monday. In particular, heads who have sent students back home for whatever reason must ensure the learners are recalled,” she noted.

But Mr Sossion is standing his ground. “Teachers are currently under the orders of their union and not their employer. It is only themselves who can initiate a lockout,” he said on the phone.

The TSC boss said that despite the commission’s numerous efforts to resolve the payment stalemate, teachers had boycotted work “in complete disregard of the law”, which she said has adversely affected the education of more than 12 million schoolgoing children.

This came as the Education ministry, in a statement in yesterday’s papers, ordered county education directors to visit all public schools in their areas of jurisdiction and take details of absentee teachers.

Education principal secretary Belio Kipsang said the officers should “monitor the situation on the ground and make daily reports to reach [the ministry] through the acting Education secretary by 4 pm daily beginning September 1, 2015”.

He said the daily reports should include attendance records of learners and teachers plus details of those who abscond duty.

But according to Mr Sossion, the Education ministry should stay away from the dispute. “It is not the ministry’s mandate to supervise teachers,” he said.

And in a statement the Education ministry sent to the Press yesterday morning, the government dismissed calls to increase teachers’ salaries without directions from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The statement said any pay that does not have the blessings of SRC will be outside constitutional provisions. “Implementing the salary increment will raise the public wage bill by Sh154.6 billion from the current Sh624.6 billion in 2015/16 to an estimated Sh779.2 billion.”

Meanwhile, Knut chairman Mudzo Nzili yesterday asked teachers not to go back to school until they get communication from him today (Sunday).