The Kenya National Union of Teachers has threatened to rally teachers to take action against the government if it does not sign another Collective Bargaining Agreement by October.
Knut further said they will not allow the new directive by the Kenya National Examinations Council that requires school heads to collect exam papers and return answer scripts. It said this is supervisors’ work.
The two issues were the cause of disagreement between primary school heads and the TSC at the ongoing annual delegates’ conference in Mombasa.
Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion yesterday said the government has committed to signing a new CBA with teachers by October, which will include better salaries and allowances.
“I want to believe this CBA will contain better salaries for teachers,” he said. He did not, however, disclose the action they will take.
Sossion said the union will not sign the new agreement, unless teachers are assured of reasonable remuneration.
“We are telling the government to stick to the timeline. If it does not, I still have the whistle that I can blow,” Sossion said, amid cheers from the more than 10,000 delegates.
On June 21, the TSC and Knut signed a CBA for 2013-2017. It introduced a standard daily subsistence allowances for those working outside their duty stations.
The agreement, the first between Knut and the TSC, was meant to resolve the perennial disputes over allowances and basic pay.
Another CBA, for the 2017-2021 period, which includes salaries, promotion and allowances, is expected to be signed in October.
The Knut boss said Kenya should employ more teachers like other African countries. He said Nigeria employs 500,000 and Tanzani 26,000 annually.
“The government should empower TSC to fulfill this mandate to ensure our youths get employment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sossion said they will not allow Knec to burden head teachers with new directives.
Sossion said school heads will not collect examination papers from distribution centres, unless the Knec Act is changed.
“The Knec Act has not been amended. So no head teacher will leave the work station to go and collect examinations. For that to be done, the Act has to be amended,” he said. He warned the exam body that teachers will not operate outside the law.
“We support elimination of examination cheating, but let us agree on who does what,” he said.
“We want to be paid for managing the centres, that is all. We don’t want to collect exams because that is not our mandate.”