Punchy lesson for combative teachers’ boss Wilson Sossion

If the Kenya National Union of Teachers could list its achievements since its birth in 1957, among the top would be an uncanny ability to come up with leaders possessed of magnetism that keeps members deferential and even obsequious to their every move.

REFORMS

The charisma of first secretary general Jeremiah Kioni was legendary and those who followed him – Ambrose Adongo, Francis Ng’ang’a, Lawrence Majali and David Okuta either measured up, did a notch better or struggled to keep up but still sailed in the realm of strong personality appeal.

Mr Wilson Sossion, the current secretary general, who on Friday lost his teaching certificate, has the same allure and has gone about his job as the leader of about 180,000 teachers with hyperactive brio and the self-confidence of a messiah.

His followers hang on his words with fascination.

The Teachers Service Commission has borne the brunt of Mr Sossion’s combative nature. His brand of union politics has seen him oppose almost every new policy touching on his members and education in general.

He has opposed professional guidelines introduced to streamline career growth, performance appraisal and development tools meant to enhance supervision, transfers and the competency-based curriculum.

Media-shy TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia has avoided direct conflict with Mr Sossion, choosing to stick to her reform agenda and fight only in the legal arena, a situation the Knut boss has capitalised on with remarkable enthusiasm, hogging the publicity and carving out a profile of the ultimate defender of teachers.

It is perhaps because of her inscrutability and determination to work behind the scenes that Dr Macharia was able to draw up the first ever Collective Bargaining Agreement between the commission and the unions in 2016.

Mr Sossion and his Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers counterpart Akelo Misori were involved in drawing up the deal, which they approved and signed.

Soon, however, Mr Sossion’s belligerence took the better of him and he started poking holes into the 2017-2021 Sh54 billion pay deal.

PUGNACIOUS

While the 50-year-old father of three, who is the first Knut boss to serve as a nominated MP, has generally kept the union’s profile high and the membership close-knit and loyal, his pugnacious nature and intransigence could however be working against him at a time basic education is going through transformation right from the curriculum, test processes, teacher promotions and deployment and professional grading.

He will rue his involvement in politics, having been deregistered for it and having lost his appeal against the decision.

Matters have been made worse by the fact that Kuppet, which was formed in 1998, took away a huge constituency from Knut and has steadily been growing in influence.

Still, the newly-formed Kenya Women Teachers Association has been eating away at the Knut edifice by campaigning to have all female teachers as members.

Apart from the weakening influence, Knut has had to suffer a financial setback because of decreased membership.

The biggest gamble Mr Sossion has taken so far and which may have shaken up his base for the wrong reasons is his threat last year to call for a strike to protest the transfer of its officials outside their areas of representation, clamour for the promotion of teachers and force the shelving of performance appraisals and the teacher professional development programme.

Stung by the threat that would have disrupted the opening of schools in January this year, TSC went to court to stop the strike.

However, the Labour and Employment Relations Court ruled in favour of Knut on July 12, setting aside new career progression rules and rejecting the commission’s argument that career upgrades should not be automatic but should be guided by existing vacancies and performance.

It also said Knut officials should not be deployed outside their areas of representation and suspended the performance appraisal system. The court asked TSC and the union to convene a meeting by December 1 to review it for a new rollout in January next year.

GOODWILL

At face value, it appeared like a milestone and another badge on Mr Sossion’s shoulder but it turned out to be pyrrhic as it essentially meant the suspension of the CBA.

Indeed, TSC went back to court seeking a stay on the grounds that the orders had essentially suspended a Sh13 billion salary raise due at the end of this month and which would have benefited more than 160,000 teachers holding administrative positions. The court on Friday declined to give a stay of the orders.

The orders triggered panic among teachers, with Kuppet distancing itself from the case. The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) and the Kenya Primary Schools Headteachers Association (Kepsha) disowned Knut.

A top education official who has worked closely with Mr Sossion says the unionist may have exhausted the goodwill he enjoys from teachers.

“These court orders will come to haunt him especially if the CBA is suspended and teachers lose out. He ought to have approached the issue with wisdom. His strike threats are too frequent and teachers may be fatigued,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Mr Sossion may also have shot himself in the foot by inciting his members to boycott and disrupt training for the new curriculum.

It is the TSC’s mandate to sharpen the skills of its employees whenever need arises. For disrupting the training, about 160 of Knut members were interdicted.

However, Mr Sossion, who lost his first wife in a road accident in 2012, has been written off countless times. He may yet rise from the ashes once more or hoist on his own petard.