Knut's new leadership delivered a collective bargaining agreement in its first 100 days in office.
It may not come with monetary gain but it has many benefits for teachers, says secretary general Collins Oyuu.
In an interview with the Star, Oyuu explained the gains made in 100 days in office.
The new team assumed leadership on June 26 after a rocky patch in the management of the union's affairs.
It rode into office on the motto of 'Team change' and sought to iron out the differences with the teachers' employer that had nearly paralysed operations.
Oyuu's predecessor, Wilson Sossion, had been seen as a stumbling block and Knut was at an all-time low.
Oyuu said they have to some degree mended the broken relationship between Knut and the Teachers Service Commission.
"Our members know that before we took over the leadership of this great union, the relationship between the union and our employer, TSC, and the government in general, in particular the Ministry of Education, was not good," he said.
Oyuu said the CBA was a great milestone in improving teachers' working terms.
We have embarked on an aggressive recruitment plan and currently we have received more than 30,000 teachers requesting to join the union. The once lost glory of Knut is coming back
The benefits include a review of the contentious delocalisation policy. Married couples will now have a chance to reunite with their families, he said.
The deal also seeks to fast-track the promotion of teachers serving in Arid and Semi-Arid lands.
Teachers will enjoy longer maternity and paternity leaves. Maternity leave will be 120 working days, while fathers now have a paternity leave of 21 working days.
On top of these, the union's dues have been released.
Oyuu said he took over leadership of a union that was almost paralysed, with most offices closed and indebted.
"Within 100 days we have managed to restore normal operations in all 110 Knut branch offices countrywide and now the union can start clearing its debts amounting to millions of shillings and pay salaries to its workers," he said.
The union, Oyuu said, also negotiated the payment of arrears of the 16,000 teachers who remained loyal members and missed out on phases three and four of the 2017-2021 CBA.
The teachers have started receiving their arrears, backdated to two years.
"In August, and currently, we are dealing with individual cases of those teachers who have not received their payments," he said.
Knut also signed a new recognition agreement with TSC.
The initial recognition agreement was struck off by the employer in 2019 after it was declared obsolete.
The TSC said Knut numbers had drastically dropped and it was no longer recognised as a teachers' union.
Oyuu said the union is now focused on restoring its membership.
"We have embarked on an aggressive recruitment plan and currently we have received more than 30,000 teachers requesting to join the union. The once lost glory of Knut is coming back," he said.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya
