KNUT CALLS TEACHERS STRIKE OFF.

0
1194

FB_IMG_1443863572376

Kenya National Union of Teachers(KNUT)Secretary-General Wilson Sossion and chairman Mudzo Nzili  at press conference where called off the five-week strike.

BY SAM ALFAN

Kenya National Union of Teachers(KNUT) have called off the five-week strike and asks teachers to resume work from Monday October 5; says action taken in obedience to Court Order.

KNUT called off the strike saying that the decision was in line with a Employment and Labour Relations Court ruling suspending the strike for 90 days.

The giant union Secretary General Wilson Sossion said that teachers will now resume duties on Monday, October 5th, 2015.

Sossion said that the ruling by Justice Nelson Obuodha suspending the strike and failure by Justice Nduma Nderi to issue orders not to suspend the strike were unfair.

The two judges, both of the Employment and Labour Relations Court, said that the strike remained suspended even as an appeal challenging the pay rise is ongoing.

The union further said that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has failed to comply with an earlier court order warning it against withholding teachers’ pay for the month of September.

TSC said 230,000 teachers would not receive pay for the month of September, which they were on strike. Only 43,000 teachers, mainly head teachers, their deputies and heads of departments received their pay.

KNUT now says it will contest the TSC’s act in the Court of Appeal until teachers get justice.

Teachers Service Commission on Friday was restrained by the Employment and Labour Relations court from hiring an intended 70,000 new teachers to supplement learning in public schools countrywide, a court has said.

This is after an umbrella body supervising trade unions in Kenya sued TSC over its decision to hire relief teachers in the wake of an ongoing strike that has paralysed learning in public schools for four weeks.

Trade Unions Congress of Kenya TUCK, contests that the teachers employer has disregarded directions by the industrial court to engage in negotiations that will see students resume learning.

Through its lawyer Mr Wilfred Nyamu, TUCK says that instead of negotiating, the employer has now advertised for recruitment of 70,000 relief teachers on a three month contractual basis.

TSC placed the advertisement in the local dailies on Thursday October 1 and equally placed a deadline slated October 5 2015.

“Respondent (TSC) stated that the teachers to be recruited are meant to alleviate the effects of the current teacher shortage in the country,” Tuck says.

The umbrella body claimed that the advertisement is inclined for the first time to engage teachers on temporary basis contrary to existing policy and practice.

They said that the teachers employer has not addressed the demands of teachers or engaged with the unions neither have they taken steps towards compliance with the court order.

“It is for this reason that the teachers have remained away from school.”

“Conservatory orders be granted to applicant restraining the respondent from carrying out the recruitment of relief teachers as advertised on October 1 2015,” the court ruled.

LEAVE A REPLY