KNUT, KUPPET in battle to recruit Junior Secondary School teachers
By Lucy Mumbi |
However, JSS group’s spokesperson Omari Omari said the JSS teachers' group prefers to start their union.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), are competing for junior secondary school teachers in a strategic bid to expand their membership.
Both unions are said to have approached the JSS teachers' group, promising support if the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) approves their transition to permanent and pensionable employment.
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The 39,550 JSS teachers could significantly increase the unions' membership and revenue from membership fees.
In addition to membership dues, non-member teachers who benefit from union-negotiated deals also pay monthly agency fees.
However, JSS group’s spokesperson Omari Omari said the JSS teachers' group prefers to start their union.
He noted that while KUPPET has sought assistance from the TSC, the National Treasury, and parliamentary committees, they have not received any support from KNUT.
“We’ve received zero support from KNUT. Instead, they’ve been asking us to go back to class as they negotiate on our behalf and requesting us to join the union. KUPPET has been encouraging us to fight for our rights so that, when we win, we can join them. Kuppet has been willing to support us and offered to train us on negotiation skills before a meeting with the Labour Committee of the National Assembly. We appreciate their offer but our members are demanding to have their union because they feel that they don’t belong to KNUT or KUPPET,” Omari said.
JSS strike
JSS teachers have been on strike since the beginning of the second term, demanding better employment terms. The strike follows a ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) that the TSC violated the teachers' rights by hiring them as interns despite their qualifications.
KUPPET's Isiolo branch secretary, Moses Kimwere (centre), joins intern teachers from junior secondary schools in a protest over poor pay in Isiolo town on May 13, 2024. (Photo: Waweru Wairimu/EV)
However, on Monday, Chair of the Education Committee Julius Melly, confirmed that Sh8.3 billion has been allocated to support the JSS teachers by employing them on Permanent and Pensionable (P&P) terms.
Melly told the Budget and Appropriations Committee that starting July 1, 2024, these teachers, initially slated to transition to P&P terms in January 2025, will benefit from the new employment status.
“The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should streamline the recruitment process to ensure that resources allocated to this function are fully utilised at the beginning of the next financial year. The commission should convert the 26,000 intern teachers to P&P terms starting July 2024 and January 2025 as earlier indicated,” Melly said.
Meanwhile, the coordinator for the teachers in Westlands Sub-county John Melvin, said they won't return to class without a clear agreement.
“What’s being said about our employment in July is political propaganda. Knut doesn’t want us to demonstrate but KUPPET has offered us support, especially in counties outside Nairobi. We’re on our own but there’s no way we’re joining Knut,” he said.
Knut usually represents primary school teachers, while KUPPET represents teachers in secondary schools and colleges. Currently, Kenya has 219,727 primary school teachers and 125,563 secondary school teachers, but not all of them belong to a union.
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