Teachers’ unions agree to call off strike after Industrial Court intervenes

The two teachers unions Wednesday agreed to call off the strike which entered the second week on Monday.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) agreed that they will officially call of the strike so that teachers can resume classes by 8am on Monday January 19, 2015.

The agreement was entered before Industrial Court Judge Nduma Nderi after intensive negotiations which were held in court, involving the two unions and government institutions.

It was also agreed that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will not victimise the teachers who had been participating in the strike and that they will be paid their salaries at the end of the month.

The unions and the government also allowed the court to take over the dispute on basic pay which was the bone of contention between them.

CONSIDER MEMORANDUMS

The court will consider memorandums the parties will file and make a determination on the basic pay dispute.

“It has been agreed that the court will adjudicate on the economic dispute between the parties,” said Justice Nduma Nderi who read the consent between the parties.

Kuppet and Knut will file their joint memorandum containing their demands by January 19, 2015.

TSC will on the other hand file their memorandum by January 26, 2015.

The Central Planning Monitoring Unit (CPMU) and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) will file theirs by February 9, 2015.

The court opted for a mediatory approach in the dispute and directed that the parties appear before Mr Justice Nderi for negotiations on how to resolve the matter.

The court had also declined to stop the strike and opted to hear the parties first before it could give any directions.

The negotiations were conducted in the presence of Labour Cabinet secretary Kazungu Kambi, labour commissioners as well as officials from Kuppet, Knut, TSC, and SRC.

Also present were their lawyers.

EARLIER TALKS FAILED

Earlier, talks between a government team led by cabinet secretaries Jacob Kaimenyi (Education) and Kazungu Kambi (Labour) collapsed after they failed to table an offer to increase the basic pay.

Knut officials led by Wilson Sossion (secretary-general) and Mudzo Nzili (Chairman) lauded the consent reached in court, saying it will address their grievances.

“This is a very historic day in the country for the Judiciary to address the labour disputes that had troubled this country for years,” said Mr Sossion adding that the direction taken by the court will be in the best interest of all concerned.

He also said that they were happy with the court adjudicating over the dispute given that the employer (TSC) had failed to table an offer.

He also directed Knut’s National Executive Council (NEC) to meet in Nairobi on Friday to ratify the decision of the court.

Kuppet Secretary-General Akello Misori also said that his union would also convene by the end of the week to ratify the court directive.

“We cannot be perennial strikers fighting over the same issue. That is why we want the court to help us resolve the recurring dispute,” Mr Misori said.

He added that after calling off the strike, the teachers will also look into ways of recovering the time that has been lost by students during the strike.