JSS tutors agree to call off strike after union, employer reach deal
Education
By
Mike Kihaki
| Jun 01, 2024
After three weeks of strike, junior secondary school teachers (JSS) have agreed to return to work on Monday.
This follows a return to work agreement signed between JSS and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) leadership in Nairobi yesterday.
KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori announced that the show cause letters issued by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to teachers for absconding duty will be withdrawn.
"The letters were issued even after the intervention of the National Assembly Committee of Education to lobby for more funds to resolve the impasse," Misori said.
The 46,000 JSS teachers have been protesting the government's failure to employ them on permanent terms.
"The union and the commission have agreed that all show-cause letters and notices to exit earlier issued to the teachers will be withdrawn and normalcy returned to JSS institutions not later than June 3," he stated.
The three-hour meeting also concluded that the teachers' employer hires all the teachers on permanent and pensionable status by July 1, instead of January next year.
The government had set aside Sh8.3 billion to employ 26,000 intern teachers by January 2025.
Another Sh4.5 billion had been allocated to the hiring of 20,000 intern teachers.
But in the new agreement, KUPPET wants TSC not to hire more interns and instead use the funds to convert the status of all the 46,000 JSS teachers to a permanent basis.
Misori said challenges facing the education sector can be resolved through consultations.
"This is the reason why we wanted JSS to be domiciled in the secondary section. We have enough resources in the senior schools while the primary schools are overstretching," he said.
He said the union had provided strong support for their hiring on permanent and pensionable terms.
"JSS forms the backbone of the education sector, setting the foundation for success in the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum. We have given a deaf ear to the teachers even after they raised their issues on the streets," Misori said.
The teachers' demand is based on a judgment by the Employment and Labour Relations Court last month, which faulted their hiring on contract.
The court had ruled that TSC can only hire the teachers on permanent and pensionable basis.
"KUPPET affirms our readiness to work with the National Treasury and other government organs in resolving this issue within the law," Misori said.
Murunga Muliro, Assistant Organising Secretary of the Junior Secondary Teachers Association, called on teachers to return to class on Monday.
"We have agreed with the union on a raft of things and we are here to announce the end to the three weeks' strike," he said.