- The Employment and Labour Relations Court has directed agency fees to be deducted from all JSS teachers for September 2026.
- The directive was issued as KNUT and KUPPET return to court over the long-running representation and agency-fee dispute.
- The matter is scheduled for hearing on October 5, when compliance with the interim orders will also be reviewed.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) in Nairobi has issued interim orders directing the deduction and remittance of agency fees from all Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers for September 2026, as a dispute involving the country’s two major teachers’ unions returns to court.
The orders were issued on September 17, 2026, in Petition No. ELRC/PET/17/2018, a case involving the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and another party.
According to the court order seen by Education News, the matter came before Justice Monica Mbaru under a certificate of urgency.
The court directed that a Notice of Motion dated September 16, 2026, be served, giving the affected party 14 days to respond.
“Notice of Motion dated 16/9/2026 shall be served to allow for 14 days right of reply,” the court ordered.
The case has been fixed for hearing on October 5, 2026.
Agency fees for JSS teachers
Of immediate significance to JSS teachers is the court’s third directive concerning agency-fee deductions.
“In the interim, the 1st Interested party is hereby directed to deduct and remit agency fees for September 2026 and due to the Respondent against all JSS Teachers pursuant to the consent order herein between the Petitioner and the Respondent,” the order reads.
The first page of the order identifies the proceedings as involving KNUT, KUPPET, TSC and another party. However, the page supplied does not reproduce the full designation of each party, including which entity is formally listed as the “1st Interested Party”. For that reason, the order is best reported using the court’s exact designation rather than attributing that status without the complete pleadings.
The court further ordered the first interested party to report on compliance when the case comes up on October 5.
“The 1st interested party shall report to the court on compliance on 5/10/2026,” the order states.
The directions mean the agency-fee issue will remain under judicial scrutiny when the parties return to court early next month.
The court also attached a penal notice warning parties against disobeying the orders.
“Take notice that any disobedience or non-observance of the order of the court served herewith will result in penal consequences,” the notice reads.
The order was issued under the hand and seal of the court on September 17, 2026.
KNUT-KUPPET contest over JSS representation
The latest order comes against the background of a long-running debate over the union representation of teachers working at the junior school level.
KUPPET traditionally draws its membership principally from post-primary teachers, while KNUT has historically represented a large share of teachers in primary education. A 2025 National Assembly report on teacher-union deductions noted that TSC had recognition agreements with KNUT, KUPPET and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET), with the unions having distinct constituencies under those arrangements.
The introduction and expansion of JSS under Competency-Based Education complicated that traditional distinction because junior schools are domiciled in comprehensive schools that also incorporate primary-school levels.
The question of JSS representation has consequently generated competition between KNUT and KUPPET. In 2024, both unions were reported to be seeking the support of tens of thousands of JSS teachers, while some JSS teachers pushed for their own representation.
The dispute took another turn in early 2025 after TSC began deducting agency fees from thousands of newly employed junior school teachers and remitting them to KUPPET. Business Daily reported in March 2025 that the deductions affected about 46,000 teachers whose employment had been converted to permanent and pensionable terms, with KUPPET saying the teachers were benefiting from a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union.
At the time, KUPPET officials said non-members covered by the agreement were being charged an agency fee equivalent to 1.8 per cent of basic salary.
What the law says about agency fees
Agency fees are different from ordinary union membership dues.
Section 49 of the Labour Relations Act provides a framework under which an employer may deduct an agency fee from the wages of unionisable employees who are not members of the union but are covered by a collective agreement negotiated by that union.
The principle has featured in previous litigation. In a separate ELRC case, the court explained that agency fees are charged to non-members benefiting from a collective bargaining agreement, distinguishing them from union dues paid by members for representation.
The issue is not new to the teaching service. As far back as 2018, Parliament considered a petition concerning TSC’s alleged failure to deduct agency fees from non-unionised teachers covered by collective bargaining agreements negotiated by KNUT and KUPPET. The petition specifically cited Section 49 of the Labour Relations Act as the basis for such deductions.
Agency-fee deductions have nevertheless been the subject of litigation over questions including union membership, freedom of association, collective agreements and whether the statutory requirements authorising particular deductions have been met.
Unions remain divided over junior schools
The latest court development also comes as KNUT and KUPPET continue to differ over the future administrative structure of junior schools.
During ongoing parliamentary public participation on education reforms this month, KUPPET advocated autonomous junior schools with separate management structures, while KNUT backed retaining junior schools within the comprehensive-school arrangement.
The positions underline broader differences between the unions over where junior school sits institutionally and how teachers serving at that level should be represented.
The September 17 order does not finally determine the wider dispute between the parties. It expressly describes the agency-fee directive as an interim measure, with the Notice of Motion still awaiting hearing.
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Attention will therefore turn to October 5, 2026, when the court is expected to hear the application and receive a report on compliance with the agency-fee order.
By Joseph Mambili
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