He spoke during the Kenya Music Festival State Concert at the Eldoret State Lodge.
President William Ruto on Friday, August 16 announced that the government is working to implement the second phase of the Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA) that will see teachers get a salary increment in a bid to avoid a looming strike come the Third Term. The second phase of the CBA was to be implemented in July 2024.
The Head of State revealed that the government has come into an agreement with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) to sit together with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the National Treasury to avoid a strike.
He spoke during the Kenya Music Festival State Concert at the Eldoret State Lodge at the newly conferred Eldoret City.
President Ruto issues instructions to the National Treasury and TSC in response to looming teachers’ strike#ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/lACHZb8LVY
— Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) August 16, 2024
“We have agreed that Treasury, TSC, and the teaching fraternity sit together and look at the possibilities of ensuring that we implement our commitment as government so that we avoid unnecessary industrial action in that space and avoid interruptions in our institutions of learning,” said Ruto.
Ruto further revealed that he has directed the National Treasury and TSC to work together with the teachers’ unions to address the issues that could lead to a strike come September this year.
“That engagement is going to happen and I want to tell the leadership of all the stakeholders to work together for the interest of our children respecting also what is due to our teaching fraternity,” he said.
According to the CBA between TSC and KNUT signed in 2021, the teachers were to receive a 2.5 to 9 per cent salary increment during its second phase from 2023. The CBA was to be implemented between 2021 and 2025.
Ruto’s statement comes amid KNUT General Secretary General Collins Oyuu issuing a seven-day strike notice on the same day over the implementation of the CBA.
According to the KNUT boss, the union communicated their grievances to the Commission and the Ministry of Labour but no action has been taken thus far.
“I have today issued a strike notice. Teachers shall down their tools and withdraw their labour and schools will not open until this matter is resolved. We have communicated to the employer several times but they have not responded,” Oyuu said.
On August 7, 2024, KNUT and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) listed several issues they wanted addressed as they threatened to strike from August 26.
The teachers’ unions demanded full implementation of the 2021-2025 CBA and the conversion of Junior Secondary School teachers to permanent and pensionable terms
According to unions, the CBA has the full force of the law, having been registered at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in accordance with the Industrial Charter, the Constitution of Kenya and the applicable laws.
Notably, Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba during his vetting for the post on August 1 revealed he would bring together the teachers’ unions as well as the TSC to discuss a way forward.
He affirmed that the situation must be controlled to ensure learning is not compromised come the Third Term in September.
