Government, Kuppet strike deal
Updated 1 hr(s) 12 min(s) ago
By Vitalis Kimutai
The Government and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) have arrived at a deal, ending the teachers’ strike.
Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori and chairman Omboko Milemba on Monday led national officials in signing an agreement with the Teachers Service Commission and the ministries of Education and Finance.
The union’s National Governing Council is expected to meet today to officially call off the strike, a week after it took effect.
"We have agreed with Kuppet that the Government will immediately implement salary arrears for 31,000 teachers who were promoted to job groups L, M, N, and P two years ago," Education PS James ole Kiyiapi announced.
The State and the teachers union also agreed to jointly develop a proposal to be forwarded to the Salaries Remuneration Commission once it is set up in line with the Constitution
to harmonise the commuter allowances for teachers and civil servants.
"Clinching this deal is not a cowardly move but a brave one. We should brace ourselves for future tougher wars as this is a fraction of what the teachers should be getting," Misori said.
Long-term strategy
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni and chairman Ibrahim Hussein represented the commission in the signing ceremony.
Kiyiapi said the Education ministry had directed TSC to come up with a long-term strategy to employ 70,000 teachers to be posted to public schools without making it a yearly issue.
"We are going to come up with a comprehensive document to address short and long term solutions to teacher shortage so that learning is not disrupted through yearly strikes," Kiyiapi said.
He also pledged that the Government would work with Kuppet and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) in instituting reforms on financial management, capacity building and professional training for teachers.
Mr Hussein said they had burnt the midnight oil to come up with a solution to the strike. Although it had not been easy, he expressed satisfaction at the outcome.
However, Kuppet official tore into Knut over calls to teachers who had been employed on contract to report to the union branch offices countrywide.
"If there is any office that the teachers should report to, then it is that of the Ministry of Education and TSC. No union is in the business of employing teachers and to direct them to report to their offices is misleading and illegal," Misori said.
