By Staff Reporter
Confusion is foaming at Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) following the suspension of top officials for allegedly holding a meeting against the union’s constitution.
The branch Executive Secretaries say that though they have not received any formal communication suspending them from office, their assistants have been told to act on their behalf.
Consequently, the 13 branch executive secretaries read this as suspension but termed it un-procedural and indicated intent of proceeding to court for redress and possibly demand disturbance allowances.
Among those suspended is Kericho Branch Executive Secretary Stanley Mutai who wanted to vie against Wilson Sossion, the Secretary General, in the 2021 national elections.
The suspension follows a meeting the 13 held on June 11th 2020 in Nyeri as part of their efforts to rebuild the union whose membership is worryingly declining each passing day.
In attendance were Zachary Wanjau, Michael Muna, Moses Masika, Caxton Miungi, Lucy Machuki, Gilbert Ndolo, Bonface Tenai, Abdi Adan, John Wesonga, Tom Kitu, Edna Mutinda and Daniel Wambua.
Four of the thirteen Branch Executive Secretaries also serve as the members of the National Executive Council (NEC), which is KNUT’s top decision-making organ.
“I have not received any communication to that effect but only my assistant was told to act, an indication that I have been suspended,” said Moses Masika, Bungoma West Branch Executive Secretary.
However, he said a suspension means that they must receive a letter on the same, which they have not and the assistant turned down the offer.
Besides, he argues that for him to be suspended, the process must be held at the branch levels where all avenues must be exhausted before the case is escalated to the national level.
After the meeting, the 13 petitioned the Teachers Service Commission to among others stop the two payrolls put in place 2019 following a court case that ruled in favour of KNUT.
“In view of the foregoing, we pray that the following measures be taken to bring sanity and harmony in the KNUT,” the petition states.
The officials appealed against the steps TSC took against teachers who disrupted the Competency Based Curriculum training which took place in April 2019.
Sossion had urged teachers to boycott the training and various disciplinary measures including suspension and sacking.
“That the TSC rescinds the decision to introduce the two payrolls system and put all teachers under the Career Progression Guidelines and hence promote them to higher grades,” the petition states in part.
Teachers affiliated to KNUT did not receive any pay rise in the implementation of the fourth phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Besides, a number of school teachers and administrators who passed interviews conducted by the Commission in December were not picked since they are affiliated to KNUT.
It also requests TSC to stop the online invalidation, an exercise that gave union members a window to quit the teacher unions.
It also petitions TSC to stop further engagement with Sossion on behalf od teachers saying teachers have lost confidence in him.
“We are living on borrowed time and with declining membership, the Commission, which had expressed intention to revoke the Recognition Agreement can make good its threat,” warned Masika.
The Bungoma West Branch Executive Secretary said that if the agreement is revoked, the union cannot negotiate on behalf of teachers.
Once the agreement is thrashed, the union cannot negotiate with the Commission on how to improve the terms and conditions of teachers on its payroll and legal fee paid, which is about 2 per cent of the basic salary can be paid to any entity.
“As members quit the union to a level where we cannot have the required threshold to negotiate for any salary increase, the Commission can decide to pay agency fee to any party,” he said.
Labour laws dictate that teachers who are not members of any union and who benefit from increased salary as negotiated by union are required to pay agency fee.
Though his assistant turned down the offer, Masika warned that the move might sow seeds of discord at the branch level as some officials might think otherwise.
Asked if the meeting was not against the established structures where Sossion is the spokesperson, Masika said they had the blessings of the 110 branch executive secretaries.
“Consequently, each region had two representatives but we are also spokespersons at the branch level and have the interest of the union at heart,” he stated.
KNUT Kiambu West Branch Executive Secretary Michael Muna said he has not received any suspension letter and his assistant refused to act on his behalf but turned down the offer.
“Sossion neither listens to us nor takes advice from us and saw the need to meet to salvage the union from crumbling,” Muna told Education News on phone.
The 2019 Annual Delegates Conference did not take place and the National Executive Council has not met this year, with Masika terming this as signs of a dysfunctional union.
With no planned meeting, a number of KNUT officials paint a bleak future as some take to social media platforms to ventilate their frustrations.
“We have not received salaries for months and banks might auction the little assets we have after branches took loans to purchase land and buses,” Masika forlornly said.
