Knut seeks meeting with teachers' employer

Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion talks to Tenwek Boys' High School students after the prize-giving day July, 13, 2019. PHOTO | VITALIS KIMUTAI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Through their union, Knut, they want the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to implement the court’s directive.
  • Mr Sossion said the commission should not dilly-dally with the implementation but endeavour to set up the meeting.

Teachers want their employer to convene a meeting from Monday to discuss the implementation of orders of the labour and employment relations court with regard to their promotion.

Through their union, Knut, they want the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to implement the court’s directive.

Mr Wilson Sossion, Knut’s secretary-general has also pulled out an industrial action card should TSC move to court to challenge the ruling delivered on Friday by Justice Byram Ongayo in which the commission lost.

It sets the stage for a confrontation between Knut and TSC even before the dust settles following the orders of the high court which saw TSC lose in a case it filed against the union on January 2 after a see-saw over a myriad of issues.

PROMOTION

“Knut is ready to sit with TSC and discuss how to fully implement the orders of the court with regard to promotion of teachers, redeployment of union officials who had been transferred to schools outside their branches, and all the other issues as directed by the judge,” said Mr Sossion.

He said the commission should not dilly-dally with the implementation but endeavour to set up the meeting.

“Knut will not entertain any mischievous efforts by TSC to scuttle the orders of the labour court. Should they move to the Appellate court, then we will also withdraw teachers from classroom,” said the Knut official.

He was speaking on Saturday at Tenwek Boys High School in Bomet County during a prize giving ceremony attended by Knut’s branch secretary, Mr Malel Langat, and his Sotik counterpart Mathias Langat and Kericho branch chairman David Rono.

TEACHER TRANSFER

“All the Knut branch officials who were identified, marked, and maliciously transferred by TSC should be immediately redeployed to schools within their branches,” said Mr Sossion.

He added that the commission should immediately engage Parliament to have money appropriated for promotion of the 50,000 teachers overdue for promotion and thousands of others maturing to upscale their grades.

“Knut is ready to sit with the teachers’ employer to customise any good provisions to the scheme of service,” said Mr Sossion.

Knut scored big with its push for promotion on merit, seniority, vacancies, academic and professional qualification with most of the teachers stuck in one job for the last five years even after acquiring higher qualification.