Bitter branch officials of KUPPET have this evening vented their frustrations on their top union officials for calling off the strike which just entered its second week today, bemoaning the timing and manner in which it was ended.
A number of union branch officials who talked to Education News on phone Monday evening said they are disappointed that due process of convening a National Governing Council (NGC) summit was not followed, the only union organ to call off the strike.
They said the announcement caught them by surprise, just moments as some of them were returning home from demonstrations while others were finalizing work plans for today, including informing the police in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Education News has also learnt that during last Sunday’s NGC which met to review the actions and progress of Week 1, a good number of union officials resolved that the strike should continue until such a time when they will meet again to review any return to work formula that would have been presented to the union.
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KUPPET Narok Executive Secretary Charles Ng’eno revealed that they were not briefed on any intentions of calling off the strike by the top officials when they met on Sunday for the NGC and that he is not aware of any return to work formula signed between the union and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Monday evening.
“I’m very much disappointed. I have seen the agreement there; nobody is talking about the Junior Secondary schools (JSS) teachers. Those are issues we said must be addressed. The only organ that can call off the strike is the National Governing Council (NGC). We are saying that what Misori has done is an illegality,” said Ng’eno.
The same was echoed by KUPPET Nandi Executive Secretary Paul Rotich who noted that there are pertinent issues that needed attention before the strike was called off.
“I am just from demonstration within Kapsabet town and the announcement has caught me by surprise! While we were busy demonstrating they are calling off the strike. They should have told us during the NGC! Those guys are a letdown; even if there was need to call off the strike, why can’t you consult the right organ (NGC)? We are the ones who declared the industrial action, and we should be the one to give direction to the Secretary General,” said Rotich.
Omondi Oluoch, KUPPET Tana River Executive Secretary, on his part stated that during Sunday’s meeting, those who attended made themselves clear that the strike can only be called off by convening an NGC and they were ready at any time to meet to scrutinize the offer by TSC.
“I am surprised to see the strike has just been called off! This is very shocking. By the time we were having our NGC, there was no any return to work formula that had been presented to us. In fact the commission was adamant against meeting the union,” said Oluoch.
On Monday evening, the union called off the strike after meeting the employer TSC. In a statement, TSC noted that apart from implementation of the second phase of the CBA, other issues raised had been addressed, including remittance of third party deductions, commencement of review of the teachers CPG, restoration of funding of teachers medical scheme, provision of resources for retooling teachers for CBC, promotion of 51,232 teachers, and commencement of the new round of CBA negotiations.
By Education News reporter
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