Special needs teachers lose bid to stop union deductions by TSC

Special needs teachers have lost their bid to stop the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) from deducting union dues to the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).

This comes after a parliamentary committee ruled the deductions were lawful and properly executed under the Labour Relations Act.

The National Assembly Committee on Public Petitions argued that the teachers had voluntarily joined the union and authorised the deductions through the TSC’s T-Pay system.

The petition, presented by Edwin Juma, the national chairperson of special needs education teachers, sought to compel the TSC to immediately halt the deductions. The teachers claimed they had neither authorised the deductions nor consented to joining KUSNET, a union they said they were unaware of.

They pleaded with the committee to intervene, arguing that they had been coerced into joining the union and were being denied the right to affiliate with a union of their choice. The teachers also expressed concern that, despite seeking legal remedies to stop the deductions, they continued to lose part of their earnings to a union they did not recognise.

According to the petitioners, the TSC had justified the deductions by citing a recognition agreement between the commission and three teacher unions. The agreement stipulates that primary school teachers are to be affiliated with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), secondary and college educators with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and special needs teachers with KUSNET.

The teachers argued that this arrangement was being used to restrict their freedom of association. They further criticised KUSNET, claiming it lacked grassroots representation, had no identifiable regional offices, and had never held Annual General Meetings (AGMs) or internal elections.

They told the committee that deductions, either as agency fees or full union dues, had been implemented without their knowledge or consent, with TSC refusing to stop them even after complaints and legal action.

Currently, TSC deducts two per cent of a teacher’s basic salary to be channelled to their respective unions.

But in its findings, the committee, chaired by Vihiga MP Ernest Kagesi, ruled that all members of KUSNET had voluntarily authorised the deductions through the T-Pay platform developed by the TSC. The platform allows teachers to manage third-party deductions, including union dues, and opt out whenever they wish.

“The committee rejects the prayers on the premise that the agency fee deductions were lawfully made in accordance with section 49 of the Labour Relations Act, and therefore the teachers are not entitled to a refund, as they benefit from the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated by KUSNET,” the committee stated in its report.

The MPs also rejected the request to compel TSC to allow the teachers to join unions of their choosing, stating that the commission had not forced anyone into union membership.

“The committee rejects the prayers on the premise that TSC has not compelled teachers to join their respective unions,” the report added.

In its submission to the committee, the TSC affirmed that union membership is entirely voluntary and guided by section 4(1) of the Labour Relations Act. Teachers who wish to join a union do so by authorising deductions on their payslips through the T-Pay system, and those who no longer wish to be members can stop the deductions using the same platform.

The commission stated that all current KUSNET members had willingly approved the deductions, and therefore, the claim that some were enrolled without consent was not accurate.

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