A teacher who worked in the school since 2018 lamented that his unprocedural sacking alongside other workers in April this year was not only unfair but also psychologically daunting.
Workers of a Nyeri secondary school are in a fix after their employer sacked them arbitrarily without notice and is threatening to evict them from the school-owned houses before awarding them their dues.
What these employees don’t understand is why, despite their acceptance to be declared redundant per se, their employer, the school, Nyeri Baptist High School is not keen on paying them their dues.
At the same time, the employers are reported to have been hell-bent on evicting them from the schoolhouses to pave the way for new workers who have been hired to replace them.
A teacher who worked in the school since 2018 lamented that his unprocedural sacking alongside other workers in April this year was not only unfair but also psychologically daunting.
Photo of Nyeri Baptist High School. /FILE
“I joined in 2018 from April up to April 6, 2024, I worked for 6 years. From 2023 to 2024 I was boarding master in charge of discipline and HOD [Head Of Department] sciences.
“What we are going through is totally unwarranted; how can someone sack you out of the woods in the name of redundancy only to hire others in your place and commit themselves to evict you without giving you your dues?” the teacher told The Standard.
There are a total of nine workers involved in the fiasco; three teachers and seven support staff from various departments.
Their pleas to the school management to pay them their arrears from August 2023 plus severance pay after the sack have been falling on deaf ears. Furthermore, the management is also yet to clear their remittances to the school’s welfare group.
On May 30, the workers sought intervention of a rent tribunal court of which the school lost. Accordingly, the magistrate directed the school to pay the affected workers all their dues first before evicting them from their houses.
However, this is yet to be affected yet the school management is still insisting the sacked employees must vacate the school compound by Sunday, June 30.
“Personally, I am at a cross-road as to how can I travel or move my belongings when I don’t have a single cent with me” claims one of the affected workers adding that “clearly, this is impunity of the highest order as what they are doing is contrary to the ruling issued by the rent restriction tribunal”
Viral Tea reached out to James Mathenge Kamunya, who is the schools board chairman to give his comment.
He however revealed that he had nothing to comment on this matter since he is completing his two terms and retiring. Instead, he referred us to the principal who neither picked up our calls nor responded to our messages.
“My term as chairman of this schools board committee is almost ending. Therefore, I have nothing to tell you regarding this matter at the moment, maybe look for the principal to explain this,” Kamunya said before hanging up.
Upon reaching out to the school’s principle through phone, he declined to respond to the matter, alleging that the matter was still in court.
“This matter is still in court and so I cannot comment for now until the court makes the final decision,” He told Viral Tea.
