The Teachers Service Commission (TSC)has urged unions to call off the planned strike ahead of the school reopening for the third term.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, TSC said it had met six demands which had been the basis of the planned strike which could have paralysed learning in public schools around the country.
“After today’s discussions, the Commission is pleased to announce that the government has provided funds for the implementation of the second phase of the CBA with effect from 1st July 2024,” TSC said in a statement.
The announcement comes after the government disbursed Ksh40 billion with Ksh29.7 billion channelled towards education activities in the country.
TSC thanked the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) after their meeting resolved six issues.
TSC thanks Unions
“We, therefore, wish to thank the unions for engaging the Commission to ensure non-disruption of learning in schools during the Third Term, 2024,” TSC noted.
First, the teachers’ employer noted that the meeting resolved the issue of reviewing career progression guidelines which the unions had raised.
Similarly, it stated that the matter of third-party remittances had been resolved. Teachers had initially complained that their NSSF contributions were deducted but not remitted to the relevant pension scheme.
The teachers’ employer also said that teachers could now access both public and private hospitals under their medical insurance scheme.
In the same light, TSC equally observed that the government had allocated resources for the retooling of teachers for the proper adoption and training on the Competence-Based Curriculum education model.
The teachers’ employer additionally said it had promoted at least 51,232 teachers through its competitive promotions system and a further 20,000 teachers annually on the common cadre.
Also top of the agenda was that the TSC would increase the salaries of teachers in line with the second phase of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The trade unions had vowed to proceed with a nationwide strike which could have hampered the end-year revision programmes and the subsequent examinations.
However, a directive by President William Ruto on August 16, 2024, seems to have cooled off some steam after the National Treasury disbursed funds for TSC to address some of the issues raised by the teachers.
“We have agreed that the Treasury, Teachers Service Commission, and the teaching fraternity sit together and look at the possibilities of ensuring that we implement our commitment as a government to avoid unnecessary industrial action,” Ruto stated.