Efforts of registering another teachers’ trade union have hit a brick wall after the Registrar of Trade Unions declined to register the Kenya National Union of Classroom Teachers (KNUCT) on the basis that there already exists registered trade unions representing the rights and interests of teachers in the said category. A letter signed by the Registrar of Trade Unions, Mrs Elizabeth Gicheha dated November 10, 2021 sent to KNUCT through Ondieki and Ondieki Advocates, who applied for a certificate on September 23,2021, indicated that the intention of the law is that a proposed trade union would engage on recruitment for the sectors where no other trade union exists.

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In 2020, the National Education Union (NEU) received the same blow. A letter signed by Mrs Gicheha dated August 26, 2020 addressed to NEU through Salim Omar and Company Advocates, who made a formal application for a certificate on August 24, 2020, reads in part, “I wish to inform you that contrary to the assertion by your client, there already exists registered trade Unions representing the rights and interests of the envisioned scope of representation.” She stated in the letter that Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) under its registered constitution represents every registered, certified, licensed or authorized teachers of all grade and qualification in Kenya while Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) under its registered constitution represents teachers/trainers in secondary and tertiary institutions of good conduct and reputation, certified, licensed or authorised to teach.

She also noted that Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) under its registered constitution represents every trained and undergoing training teacher registered by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and other ministries and is employed in the field of Special Needs Education and Early Childhood Education while  Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (KUNOPPET) under its registered constitution represents all teachers in Early Childhood Education of good conduct and reputation, certified, licensed or authorized to teach.

The Registrar further explained that Kenya Union of Private Schools Teachers (KNUPST) under its registered constitution represents every trained teacher and tutor engaged to teach in private schools and private educational institutions i.e. private kindergartens, nurseries, preprimary, primary and secondary schools whose professional conduct of charge can be sustained.

Kenya Union of Technical and Vocational Education Trainers (KUTVET) drew its membership from TVET institutions like National Polytechnics, Technical Training Institutions (TTIs) Technical and Vocational Centres (TVCs) and Teacher Colleges. Had NEU’s registration been accepted, the union would have recruited its members from preprimary, primary, secondary and tertiary levels as well as those in private institutions. Such recruitment would have been a major breakaway from tradition where unions targeted membership from only one category of teachers.

Ms. Martha Omollo, who is the spokesperson of Kenya National Teachers Pressure Group (KNTPG), confirmed that she was among those proposing and pushing for the registration of NEU, arguing that teachers want a union they can associate with. “Together with other teachers, we were transferred for speaking against the Teacher Professional Development (TPD), for referring to the collapse of unions since they no longer speak for the Kenyan teacher and speaking up against the TSC Minet health insurance company covering teachers,” said Ms. Omollo. She added that teachers want a new union which they can associate with since they currently feel strangled in unions compromised by TSC.

“How does one explain why Knut withdrew or rather as the SG claim they only set aside the cases that were shielding teachers against punitive policies? If the unions can’t speak for us, we’ll speak for ourselves,” she said. Sources also revealed that Mr Nelson Kirui, who was among those transferred, received his transfer letter while outside a hospital theatre where his wife was undergoing surgery. He was among those proposing and calling for the registration of KNUCT.

In November this year, many teachers who were members and leaders of KNTPG were transferred to far-flung work stations in what TSC termed as a normal transfer, though many saw it as a move perceived to be a crackdown on those associated with the activities of the group.

Two teachers have moved to court seeking to stop the Ministry of Labour from gazetting the agency fees from non-unionisable tutors.

The teachers argue that teachers who have not subscribed to a union should not be subjected to payment of agency fees, considering the 2021-2025 non-monetary collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which did not result in a salary increase.

According to the statements filed by Mr. Stephen Onditi and Mr. Paul Nzyathyu, the court should issue an injunction against the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) from effecting any orders from the Ministry of Labour on the fee.

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The respondents listed in this petition are; Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet), TSC and the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection.

“That no agency fee should be paid on a non-monetary CBA by employees who are not members of first, second and third respondents,” state the court papers.

The petitioners say the intended action by the Labour and Social Protection CS to gazette agency fees will have diverse psychological effects and will be unfair under the circumstances.

Kuppet charges an agency fee of 1.8 per cent, Knut takes two per cent while Kusnet claims 1.45 per cent of basic salary.

If gazetted, over 190,000 teachers who are not affiliated to any union in both primary and secondary schools will be deducted the fee, which will then be forwarded to the bodies.

The Labour Relations Act (2007) provides that employees who are not members of a trade union but are benefiting from terms of employment negotiated in a CBA are deducted an agency fee.

Through an affidavit, Onditi argues that since the unions signed the CBAs, teachers are stressed by the thought of being forced to pay an agency fee yet the maternity and paternity leaves contained in the document are provisions of the law under the Employment Act (2007).

The Labour CS Simon Chelugui intends to gazette the fee to be deducted from non-union members’  salaries based on a non-monetary CBA.

“The conduct of the respondents in hastily planning and signing a non-monetary CBA on which agency fee is to be paid to the first, second and third respondents is quite suspicious and shows that they are willing to go to earn agency fee from employees who are non-members of the unions,” Onditi.

He says the unions should have followed the right process instead of acting hastily to have the CBA signed.

“Such actions by the respondents cannot have the force of law and is illegal, improper, unfair and abusive leaving the petitioners exposed to unfair administrative action which is procedurally unfair,” states the affidavit.

The petitioners also want the CBA signed between TSC and Knut be declared unconstitutional since Knut does not substantially represent employees under the TSC and should not have signed the CBA.

They say TSC and Knut failed to follow the law and procedure as laid out in the Labour Relations Act when signing the CBA.

They allege that the agreement was simply signed to boost Knut financially after thousands of teachers withdrew their membership following constant wrangles with TSC.

The formation of a new teachers’ union has thrown the entire leadership of giant teacher unions, KNUT and KUPPET into panic mode. The national education Union (NEU), is determined to fish members from all learning levels, from pre-primary schools to universities and other tertiary institutions.

A section of Officials from the existing teacher unions has termed NEU as a splinter union whose role is to split the larger unions, steal their members with impossible promises, and kill their bargaining powers with TSC and the government.

The National Education Union comes after several fruitless struggles, which have incited very many once loyal members to quit the former giant teachers’ union, KNUT. It also follows a pre-influenced leadership transformation in KNUT and the signing of a controversial cashless collective bargaining agreement, CBA with the Teachers Service Commission TSC.

NEU will break the traditional routine of unions targeting membership from only a category of teachers.

KNUT for instance draws most of its members from primary school teachers, whereas KUPPET draws most of its members from secondary schools, with some from teacher training colleges.  The Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) targets teachers working in special schools and teachers with special conditions from any learning level. KUPPET, KNUT and KUSNET have all signed recognition agreements with TSC.

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Other recently formed unions include the Kenya Union of Pre-primary Education Teachers Kunoppet, which draws its membership from pre-primary teachers, and the Kenya Union of Technical and Vocational Education Trainers Kutvet, whose formation saw technical institutes’ teachers leave Kuppet in 2018.

Kuppet secretary-general Akello Misori warned the proponents of Neu of stiff competition, sentiments which were echoed by KNUT secretary general Collins Oyuu in a separate podium.

Kenya teachers have suffered yet another grand disappointment as the teacher unions; KNUT, KUPPET and KUSNET opted for the cashless CBA deal they had rejected with the teacher service commission, TSC.

The unions walked from a day-long meeting with the employer empty-handed after signing a deal that does not guarantee any salary increments.

Though details have it that a cashy CBA will be signed after a year, none of the parties can be trusted. Based on the most current deal therefore, Maternity leave days will be increased to 120 from the present 90, and paternity leaves to 21 days up from 14.

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Under the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) deal, TSC will also consider transferring couples to schools near each other (if both are teachers) subject to the availability of vacancies. These are the only guaranteed benefits for the teachers under the CBA that union officials termed as ‘unfortunate’ and too little for their members.

Unlike for KUPPET and KUSNET, the push behind KNUT signing the empty CBA has been established. KNUT and TSC signed a consent form prior to yesterday’s meeting, which totally weakened the unions’ push for monetary deal, leading to the signing of the CBA.

“The court be pleased to stay the whole judgment of employment and labour relations court in Nairobi delivered on July 12, 2019. The matter is hereby marked as settled,” reads part of the consent between TSC and Knut.

The consent filed before Court of Appeal judges Asike Makhandia, Sankale Ole Kantai, and Pauline Nyamweya unlocked some Sh600 million deducted from its members by their employer but was not remitted.

This over ksh. Accrued union dues was so mouth watering that KNUT could not look back on the feelings of the contributors.

It also meant that the 15,000 Knut members will get a pay raise from the Sh54 billion pay package where they missed the third and fourth phases of the 2017-2021 CBA. The members will also be entitled to promotions that they missed in the previous CBA.

Insiders said that with the consent filed, Knut was eager to pick the quick gains and this presented a major split from Kuppet who had pushed for money offer.

Realising that Knut and the weaker Kusnet would sign the deal, Kuppet yielded to append their signature.

It emerged that Kuppet was also cautions to press on with their hard-line stand as it would erode the good will they have been enjoying with TSC even when Knut was entangled in a bitter fight with the employer.

The new deal also unlocked teacher professional development courses, which have been slated to begin soon.

The teachers’ service commission, TSC, has defended its moneyless counteroffer proposal to teachers, saying that’s the best it can afford.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said the 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was not only about monetary gains, but also about conditions of service for teachers.

Macharia maintains that while she appreciates the right of the unions to decline the offer, they should also consider the economic situation the country finds itself in and the fact that she cannot offer what she does not have.

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“We urge the union leadership to consider that, as an employer, we have stood with their members and paid full remuneration even when other sectors of the economy were experiencing job losses, salary cuts and other harsh employment conditions as part of the measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic,” said Macharia.

According to the TSC boss, TSC is committed to providing an outstanding working and professional environment for all the teachers.

“A proof of this, the commission has this month paid the last salary under the 2017-2021 CBA, which has ensured our teachers now earn salaries that are comparable to their peers in the region and in the public service,” she said.

Macharia added that over the past eight years, the commission has embraced open dialogue as a means of managing industrial relations in the teaching service.

She said that is how the commission was able to carry out reforms to ensure the teaching sector remains professional, peaceful and free from industrial disharmony.

Macharia said their counteroffer to the unions was based on an advisory from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and that the commission’s proposal had factored in the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Aware the CBA 2017-2021 would come to an end on June 30, 2021, and in conformity with the constitutional provisions requiring employers in the public sector to obtain opinion from SRC, the commission sought advisory opinion on the way forward regarding a new CBA for the 2021-2025 period,” she said.

The SRC gave an advisory on June 17, 2021 that there would be no pay reviews for the basic salary structures, allowances and benefits paid in the public sector in the financial year 2021/2022 to 2022/2023.

Ms Macharia said the negotiations they had with teachers on Tuesday at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel were based on the understanding that the basic salary, annual increments, allowances and benefits teachers are currently getting would be maintained.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) have rejected TSC’s counteroffer and threatened to paralyse learning next term when schools reopen for first term.

Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori said the union would use all means including the judiciary to challenge the legality of the SRC position blocking public-sector salary reviews for two years.

The new academic year scheduled to start on July 26 could be disrupted after teachers’ unions threatened a strike to press for a pay rise.

This is after a fruitless six-hour talk between the unions and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

TSC had invited officials of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education teachers (Kusnet) for talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for the next four years.

However, after the meeting, it emerged that TSC’s counter-offer excluded a pay rise, apparently in compliance with a recent Salaries and Remuneration Commission directive freezing salary increment for two years.

Instead, TSC offered mock benefits like improved maternity and paternity leave. The unions rejected the offer, vowing not to allow the TSC to use SRC directives to deny teachers a pay rise.

“They have not offered anything. We have, therefore, given TSC seven days to give us a counter-offer; failure to that, we will ask teachers not to report to schools for the First Term that is beginning in August,” said Kuppet secretary general Akelo Misori.

Misori said that what happened yesterday clearly indicates that the TSC has been secretly working together with the SRC to frustrate teachers’ demands for a salary review. He said TSC cannot use the Covid-19 pandemic and the advisory they got from the SRC as an excuse to give teachers a “non-monetary counter offer”.

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“Kuppet cannot sign a CBA with no monetary benefits given the wide disparities in remuneration across cadres in the expiring 2016-2021 CBA coupled with the sharp inflation in the country. This is the time to review teachers’ salaries,” he said, adding, TSC has been acting in bad faith and had waited until the last minute to offer them nothing.

“The timing of the offer was designed to present the union with fait accomplishment, to create a vacuum in the teaching profession but we will not fall for it,” he added.

Mr Misori said that, by offering nothing, TSC has ignored the plight of teachers who are front-line workers in the fight against Covid 19 and have borne a heavy economic impact.

Newly elected secretary general Collins Oyuu said his union, Knut, was also disappointed by the TSC’s non-monetary counter-offer.

“The proposals were strong on maternity and paternity leave, but will this bring food on the table? We came out with nothing in terms of pay and I cannot be crucified by members with just two days in office,” said Mr Oyuu.

Mr Oyuu, however, said Knut was happy to have been invited for the negotiations. On the bad relationship between TSC and Knut, Mr Oyuu said they have agreed to improve industrial relations.

Kusnet secretary general James Torome said they did not agree with the TSC as whatever was presented does not give teachers a salary increment.

“We are not opposed to the maternity, paternity and pre-adoptive offers, but we have asked the TSC to give us a serious counter offer,” said Mr Torome

The teachers service commission, TSC wrote to the salaries and remuneration commission, SRC, seeking further directions concerning the teachers 2021-2025 CBA, to replace the current that is ending this month. In response, SRC pledged to give directions in two weeks.

Currently, TSC is in dilemma concerning the action to take to enable the negotiations for the 2021-2025 CBA kick off as they must receive directions from the SRC

TSC had written to SRC on April 13^th, asking for directions. It is on this date that TSC submitted the unions’ proposals to the SRC.

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‘We will give directions in the next two weeks,” confirmed Mengich.

It is after the directions from SRC that TSC will organize a meeting with the unions to discuss their proposals and to present a counter proposal.

“The directives from the SRC are the ones to guide the TSC. Without the advisory, the teachers’ employer is actually helpless,” a source from the TSC revealed.

According to the information received by TSC from SRC, a communication will be sent soon.

“Please note that the commission is looking into the submission, the outcome will be communicated in due course,” reads part of the letter written by SRC CEO Anne Gitau to TSC.

Kenya union of post primary teachers, KUPPET, Kenya national union of teachers (KNUT) and Kenya union of special needs teachers (KUSNET) are pushing for the negotiations to start.

KUPPET has already issued a seven-day notice to the teachers’ service commission to give them a counter offer or they call their members to strike.

Teachers’ annual salary increment and promotions in July 2021 are uncertain due to deliberately delayed 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

The teachers service commission, TSC is yet to provide a counter offer to the teacher unions. Neither has TSC invited the unions for a meeting to decide on a workable way, amid revelations that treasury has maintained that the government has no funds.

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Teachers’ unions have called for interventions and have demanded that they be invited for a meeting to discuss their proposals and agree on the salary increments and promotions for teachers. The unions have also demanded for a direction from salaries and remunerations commission, SRC, to avert this stalemate.

Kenya national union of teachers chairman, Wilson Sossion, has said it’s a sad situation to see the current CBA coming to an end yet no efforts are being made to sign the new agreement to guide the welfare of teachers.

“There is currently no new CBA for teachers. What that means is that teachers will miss their salary increments in July and teachers will not get promotions,” said session.

The ksh. 54B 2017-2021CBA, which is operating currently, is expected to end on 30^th June. In the final phase of the CBA, TSC, promoted 16,152 teachers. Another 1000 diploma teachers are expected to be promoted towards the end of June.

For further promotions and salary increments to be effected by the TSC, the new CBA is expected to give guidance, without which, there wont be promotions and salary increments.

Legally, TSC is required to ask trade unions their counter proposals a year before the expiry of the running CBA. The trade unions are then required to submit their proposals within 60 days. within 30 days, TSC is required to submit the proposals of the trade unions to the SRC.

The SRC then provides parameters of the CBA negotiations within another 30 days. After all those, the law requires TSC to issue a counter offer within 60 days of receiving the negotiation parameters.

“Once the negotiations are concluded within the advised parameters by the SRC, TSC requests for clearance to have the CBA Registered,” reads a section of the SRC negotiation guidelines.

The request for clearance takes 14 days and the SRC issues a letter of clearance within five days. In summary, conclusion of the entire process takes one year.

Kenya union of special needs education teachers, KUSNET, secretary general, James Toome, said the union is already receiving pressure from teachers who want to know the state of the CBA.

However, Kenya union of post primary education teachers, KUPPET secretary general Akello Misori said TSC wrote to them recently informing them that they will be invited for a discussion.

The fate of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for teachers now hangs in balance after treasury advisory to Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) said that only 10 per cent will be available for proposed pay review for civil servants and teachers.

The advisory has dealt serious a blow to teachers who have been waiting anxiously for the approval of the new 2021-2025 CBA.The National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has committed that only 10 per cent, which totals to around Sh8 billion is available for the review.

It is however not clear whether the amount will only be for the next 2021-22 Financial Year or it will cover the four-year circle as it is usually the case in the CBA. SRC had requested the money from treasury to harmonize workers’ pay and to effect new salary increments in the new CBA for teachers once the job evaluation was completed.

The current CBA is expected to end on June 30, giving way to the next four-year cycle of remuneration based on job evaluations,but this now seems to hang in the balance as details show that the government will not make funds available.

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The information has been received with mixed reactions from the union officials for teachers with some terming it unfair way to treat teachers.

Vihiga Executive Secretary of Kenya National Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) who spoke to Education News on phone recently stated that the information greatly shocked teachers.

“As KUPPET Vihiga, that information was received with a lot of shock because teachers are aware that the CBA we have been using has come to an end and expecting another one in July for the next four years.” Inyeni added that they will only listen to their employer which is Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and not the result of report filed by Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) about their pay rise after job evaluation. “We expect that the basis of our engagement should be documents coming from SRC and counter proposal from TSC because our national office had already given our proposal for the pay rise, but any other information coming in from what we are going to call third parties is not something we are going to ask our members to look into because it is not pertaining to us,”added Inyeni.

The same was echoed by his Narok Counterpart, Charles Ng’eno.“What teachers are doing for this country is such a big sacrificeand the government should not be telling us that it doesn’t have money, what is happening currently is that there is a lot of misuse of public resources,” said Ng’eno.

Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) Secretary General, James Torome said they have not sat with their employer TSC to get a counter offer since they have already submitted their proposal as required by law.

“At this juncture, we are still waiting for the employer to call us and give a counter offer because we already submitted our demands, so any other information coming from any other quarters, we do not recognize it,” said Torome.

Torome added that the information that they will recognize is what will come from SRC to their employer, who will call them and give them the counter offer and share what will be available.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General, Hesbon Otieno said that the government should not say that there is no money for CBA adding that CBA is not all about money.

“If the economy is not good and there is no money,then what is it they are offering so that people can discuss? You cannot say that we have no money for CBA. CBA is notabout money, it has a lot of things with very many o t h e r components,” said Otieno.

Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) Chief Executive Officer , Benta Opande stated that the Treasury is usurping the powers of Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

“What treasury is doing is simply usurping the powers of TSC in the case of teachers. This is very unconstitutional as TSC is an independent entity,” said Opande.

TSC had previously hinted a possible pay rise for teachers in July 2021, after the employer stated

that it is in final CBA negotiation with SRC hence assuring teachers’ unions that salary talks would com-

mence immediately SRC gets the award from the Treasury to define how the negotiation will be.

In the new CBA deposited at the SRC and which was to take effect from July 2021, the TSC had proposed a minimum of 16 per cent increment in basic salary for teachers and a maximum of 32 per cent.

Classroom teachers, who were underpaid under the present CBA,will be most hit as they were expected to be the greatest beneficiaries in the next phase of salary reviews. Next.

Sources very close to the salaries and remuneration commission, SRC, have revealed that the salaries body has approved some of the demands presented by the Kenya union of special needs teachers, KUSNET on their 2021-2025 CBA proposal.

KUSNET, which for the first time presented a CBA proposal to the SRC through TSC, is making a good progress with the welfare of its members.

In their proposal, the Kenya union of special needs teachers asked for an increment of 50-60% on the basic salary. They also demanded a special allowance of ksh. 15,000 monthly and a guidance allowance of ksh. 30,000.

“All special needs teachers shall be paid an allowance of ksh. 15,000 uniformly per month,” reads a proposal written by James Torome, the KUSNET secretary general.

KUSNET also demanded that the career progression guidelines be provided under the code of conduct for teachers.

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“Under this agreement, the commission ensures that every teacher under its employment is facilitated to undergo career progression,” said Torome.

SRC will deal with matters basic salary uniformly for all the unions, based on the job groups of the members in the unions and therefore it could not approve the basic salary demands for KUSNET independently. However, sources have it that the special allowance earned by KUSNET members will increase significantly as per the demands of the union.

They will also be entitled to a guiding allowance, whose value is yet to be revealed. All KUSNET members will be under the career progression guidelines and will be facilitated by TSC to undergo career progression.

Just about two months, ago, TSC signed a recognition agreement with KUSNET, which saw KUSNET being recognized by both TSC and SRC as a union.

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These recent developments should give hopes to teachers that even the demands by KNUT and KUPPET may be approved. KNUT demanded an increment of 200 % on the basic salary. KUPPET on the other hand demanded an increment of between 30- 60% on the basic salary but adjusted their proposal after the Naivasha meeting with TSC.