Two major unions have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to address six critical concerns, threatening to initiate a strike starting August 26 if their demands are not met.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) have expressed frustration over what they describe as a worsening work environment due to TSC’s alleged failure to uphold previous agreements. The unions are insisting on the full implementation of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and are prepared to take industrial action if this demand is ignored.
In a joint statement, Kuppet and Knut highlighted their shared grievances, accusing TSC of breaching the agreement by not implementing the second phase of the Addendum, which was supposed to take effect on July 1, 2024. This phase includes adjustments to basic salaries and allowances for all teachers.
The unions emphasized that the CBAs, signed in June 2021 and amended in August 2023, are legally binding, having been registered with the Employment and Labour Relations Court. They are demanding immediate changes, including the conversion of Junior Secondary School teachers to new employment terms, the confirmation of all current intern teachers to permanent and pensionable status effective July 1, and the payment of their full salaries.
Additionally, the unions are calling for the recruitment of 20,000 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms to address the significant staffing shortages in Junior Secondary Schools.
The tension between the unions and TSC escalated following the government’s decision to reduce the commission’s recurrent budget by Sh10.2 billion. TSC CEO Nancy Macharia informed the Departmental Committee on Education in May 2024 about the budget cuts, which amounted to over 10 Billiion Kenya shillings .