By Roy Hezron
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) National office has cracked the whip on its defiant branch Executive Secretaries who protested the roll out of the controversial Teacher Professional Development (TPD) by their employer Teachers Service Commission (TSC) after it emerged that the branch bosses who were struck from the Union payroll are yet to be reinstated.
A number of branch bosses who spoke to Education News this morning revealed that they have gone for two months without pay, a situation that can be seen as the national office cracking the whip on defiant Executive Secretaries who protested on the roll out of the controversial TPD by the employer most recently.
Sabala Inyeni (Vihiga), Orwa Jasolo(Migori), William Lengoyiap (Samburu) and Moses Kimwere(Isiolo) who spoke to Education News confirmed that the union has been sending the dues to branches and that they are supposed to be paid from the dues, a situation that has never been there before.
They revealed that unlike before, where their salaries were channeled through their accounts direct from the head office, and now they are supposed to be paid from the dues send through the branches; a situation they are saying it is impossible since they are full time employees of the union and the dues sent to the branches are for branch operations only.
Vihiga KUPPET Branch Executive Secretaries Sabala Inyeni confirmed to Education News on phone that his salary had been lumped together with Union dues, a situation that he stated that has left the fate of these Executive Secretaries in the hands of their junior branch officials who are signatories to the union accounts.
“I do not understand this arrangement because we are full time union employees. Asking us to pay ourselves from union dues that are sent to the branch looks funny. We also have third party obligations with financial institutions which we have to fulfill. I will contact the Secretary General to get finer details on this development,” said Sabala.
On the controversial TPD modules, Sabala maintained that it is the KUPPET members themselves who have rejected the modules in their current format.
“We will support this program if our grievances are addressed. We are expecting TSC to source for funding from the ministry to run this program, not asking our members to foot the bill. We also expect them to design the program in such a manner that senior colleagues don’t sit for the same type of programs with their junior counterparts in the profession. A teacher who has taught for many years and is headed for retirement in the next few years doesn’t require a module, if you ask me,” he added.
His sentiments were supported by his Migori counterpart Orwa Jasolo, who confirmed to Education News that for two months they have gone without a salary adding that it was upon the teachers of Migori to change their stand on TPD and not himself.
“We have not received [our salaries] for two months now. Money was sent yes, but it was sent with the union dues together. So it is up to the branch now to pay you, so we are still asking on how it is going to work because this is a new thing nobody knows how it is being done,” said Jasolo.
He added: “I think is just meant to intimidate and frustrate us on our stand on TPD which has not changed, because we represent the teachers… it is the teachers of Migori to change their stand not me.
William Lengoyiap from Samburu branch noted operating in his branch has become extremely difficult considering the nature of the county which is among the counties located in Arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) and going without salaries for two months has even worsen the situation.
“Right now I have a school here where a teacher was beaten thoroughly by a student, so I have been there for the last two days trying to mediate between teachers, students, County Offices and County Directors because teachers were walking out of the school; how do I do this work? How to I survive? I have no salary at all!” lamented Lengoyiap.
Moses Kimwere from Isiolo branch confirmed that his October salary was paid and added that about six Executive Secretaries had not been paid, the main reason emanating from the roll out of TPD which they protested.
The directive seems to have affected about eight Executive Secretaries who were struck from the union payroll last month including Moffats Okisai (Busia), Robert Miano (Laikipia), Shedrack Mutungi (Taita Taveta) among others; a fall out that has emanated from protest letters that were sent to the Secretary General Akelo Misori accusing him of supporting the punitive TPD modules.
Efforts to reach the union Secretary General on phone failed since his phone was off by the time of publication of this story.
However, an earlier conversion with the Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima in October this year – when this issue first emerged that some of the Branch Executive Secretaries have not been paid October salaries – he dismissed the claims and stated that: “Branches are the one that pay salaries, they employ their Secretaries. If you look at our constitution, who is to pay a branch secretary? You will be able to appreciate that the national office has no role. The total dues from branch are reduced to pay a Secretary, so nobody has gone without a salary.”
