Kuppet dismisses Knut merger talk as a ‘trick’

Knut Secre Gen Wilson Sossion

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

The saga surrounding the proposed merger of two giant teachers unions has taken a new twist after one of them said it was tricked by the rival union into signing a document last month at a meeting in Lusaka, Zambia.

Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) leadership yesterday said the union national chairman does not have the sole mandate to “sign and ratify” a major decision like a merger and termed the push to collapse their union “an exercise in futility.”

Kuppet secretary general Akello Misori sought to “set the record straight”, saying Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) had a prior knowledge of the deal to be signed but kept their union in the dark.

“Merger talks were not part of an agenda at the two-day conference. That was a scheme hatched by Knut to dupe Kuppet,” he said.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion and Kuppet Chairman Omboko Milemba signed the agreement.

Misori said his Kuppet chairman travelled to Zambia for the sole purpose of validating a report commissioned by Education International (EI), a global union federation of teachers’ trade unions.

The report, seen by The Standard on Saturday, demonstrates a pattern of deteriorating quality of education because of multiplicity of teachers unions in selected African countries.

The report dubbed Trade union Splinterism in the Education Sector in Africa proposes mergers among the rival unions to spur quality of education.

Sossion on Friday said Milemba did not sign the document at gun point.

“Milemba read the document, presented the same at the plenary session and asked me to support it. After that we signed it,” said Sossion.

But Misori said he is now in possession of information that Knut had engaged the EI into prior merger talks without a written consent from Kuppet.

“Our chairman was tricked into signing a document. We only realised the impact of the document after it appeared in the media this week,” said Misori.

He said is the only person with the powers under their constitution to keep the seal of the union and not the chairman. “If Knut secretary general signed, then it should have required me to sign to validate it. But even then, a merger is not an individual decision. We have structures,” he said.

Setting record straight

The document in question reads: “We as general secretaries or presidents and witnessed by representatives from Union of Education Norway, the south African Democratic Teachers Union and EI commit ourselves to initiate the process of achieving greater unity towards mergers.”

Three representatives from Botswana, Zambia and Kenya signed the document. In Kenya, Sossion, Milemba and Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Education Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha) secretary general Albert Obed signed the agreement.

Yesterday, Misore put the record straight and noted that the agreement signed was for future engagements to foster unity of teachers unions.

“This was to be the start of a process to unite unions but not to merge them. Kuppet cannot dissolve to join another union. But we can work closely under a federation,” said Misori.

A merger implementation matrix requires sensitisation of top union leadership, branch executives and members of the union at various stages that will culminate in May when a single teachers union is formed.

Sossion said Knut has already held a sensitisation meeting of top leadership and asked Kuppet to set up a joint meeting. “We have opened up discussions with our organs down to the branch leadership and our members since this is a noble idea. Our leadership has vowed to put aside any self interests to allow the teachers of Kenya to unite under one union and speak with one voice and not through a federation,” reads a letter by Sossion to EI regional coordinator, Assibi Napoe.

In a tough letter to Knut, Misori says: “We are not ready for a joint steering committee meeting on merger but on Federation of Kenyan Teachers. We shall not consume dictatorial correspondence from any quarters.”

Misori explained that already, the two unions cooperate in matters of mutual interests. “Both unions are represented in teachers service salary review committee, we are both represented at the National Education Board and we also have representation at the TSC selection panel for commissioners and chair,” he said.