With the rising tension between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and unions representing teachers in Kenya, talks to forestall a countrywide strike next week have ended in disarray. The union officials came out of the negotiations accusing the TSC of not having addressed their full range of demands. This effectively means that a planned strike due to start on Monday, August 26, 2024, is still on.
The recent deliberations between TSC and the unions, including Kuppet and Knut, are on the implementation of Phase II of the 2021 – 2025 CBA and other demands like promotion of teachers and contractual terms.
Though TSC offered to implement Phase II of the CBA, union officials remained un-satisfied. The commission handled issues on communication and other key demands, which did not augur well with the union. According to TSC, phase II had been delayed by budget cuts. The commission then assured that teachers’ August salaries will have increments backdated to July 1, 2024.
The union chiefs, among them Kuppet Secretary-General Akello Misori and Knut’s Collins Oyuu, have maintained that the strike notices still stand, arguing that the unions will reach out to their governing councils on what next. The unions are pushing for more than just CBA implementation; they want 130,000 teachers promoted and 46,000 contract teachers converted to permanent employees, and an improved medical cover management.
Contrary to the stand taken by the unions, TSC officials, led by chief executive Nancy Macharia, said all issues were resolved and asked them to call off the strike. They assured the commission that it had received the full budgetary allocation for the CBA and teachers would receive their full benefits in the August payroll.