Kuppet adamant as teachers strike enters second week

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori addresses the Press on the nationwide strike. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has defended the strike that now enters the second week.

The union accuses the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of ignoring their grievances, even as the government shows a willingness to address the impasse.

Kuppet insists that return-to-work agreement must be grounded in a genuine commitment from the employer to address teachers grievances.

Speaking in Nairobi after the National Governing Council meeting, Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori cited the stagnation of teachers in the same job groups as a critical issue that must be addressed urgently.

Mosori demanded the withdrawal of the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) enforced by the TSC.

"Any meaningful move to the negotiation table must be hinged on quashing the current retarded Career Progression Guidelines," he said.

He regretted that many teachers were grossly underpaid due to stagnation in outdated job groups.

"It is common sense that the reason why many teachers are currently grossly underpaid is because they are rigidly tethered into draconian job groups in which they have been for several years," he said.

Kuppet Secretary General also criticised the minimal impact of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which he claims has done little to improve teachers' working conditions.

"The implementation of the CBA that the employer is currently boasting about is just a drop in the ocean. How can you return a teacher to class with only Sh1,000?" He posed.

The union further criticized the TSC for failing to honour government pledge to hire Junior Secondary School teachers on permanent and pensionable terms warning that the strike is akin to struggle for liberation.

"We have moved from industrial action and now we have moved to a struggle to liberate the teachers from the slavery. We have been pushed too much to this and we believe we have the capacity," he said.

At the same time, Kuppet told parents that their children will not be attended to until the TSC meets the teachers' demands.

"We have withdrawn our labor and service to their children. Let the Principals take care of your children. We will not be responsible for anything that happens while we are away," Misori warned.

Kuppet Secretary General accused TSC of causing conflict between school head teachers, the government, and parents, saying overcrowded schools are becoming unmanageable without teachers.

"Most schools' populations have skyrocketed, making the principals unable to manage alone without the teachers. For now, there is chaos in schools that is not being addressed," Misori said.