A fresh attempt to end the standoff between West Pokot ECDE teachers and their employer begins tomorrow, October 8, 2026, when union officials, the county government and the Ministry of Labour sit down for talks aimed at resolving a dispute that has threatened to disrupt early childhood education across the county.
The talks bring together KUNOPPET, the West Pokot County Government and the Ministry of Labour under a formal conciliation process, with the outcome expected to determine the next course of action in the dispute.
The meeting is scheduled for 2pm at the County Labour Office in Kapenguria and will be chaired by appointed conciliator Moses Lokito.
The negotiations follow a seven-day strike notice issued by KUNOPPET on September 24 after what the union described as failure to resolve longstanding grievances affecting ECDE teachers.
The notice had indicated that teachers would withdraw their services from October 2, but the union has since asked members to remain at work as the conciliation process and other efforts to resolve the dispute proceed.
KUNOPPET General Secretary Samuel A. Opiyo has been at the centre of the union’s push for a settlement, with the union demanding concrete action rather than further assurances.
At the centre of the dispute is a six-point demand that touches on remuneration, employment security, job grading and recognition of the teachers’ representative body.
Remuneration demands take centre stage
The teachers are demanding implementation of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission advisory of August 10, 2023, together with the subsequent remuneration cycles.
The demand has placed pay at the centre of the dispute, with teachers arguing that ECDE professionals should receive remuneration that reflects their qualifications, responsibilities and working conditions.
They are also demanding hardship allowance for teachers serving in designated hardship areas, saying difficult working environments should be recognised through appropriate compensation.
The dispute therefore goes beyond a simple salary demand. Teachers are linking their remuneration to broader questions of fairness, professional recognition and the ability to retain qualified personnel in early childhood education.
Another major grievance concerns job grading and designation.
The teachers want their grades and designations reviewed and corrected so that they correspond with their qualifications and the responsibilities they perform.
The issue is significant because grading determines more than a title. It influences remuneration, career progression and the status attached to a teacher's position within the county employment structure.
The teachers are therefore seeking clarity and consistency in how ECDE personnel are classified and remunerated.
Contract teachers seek gratuity and job security
Teachers serving under contractual arrangements are also demanding payment of gratuity where it is due under their employment terms.
Closely connected to this is the demand for conversion of eligible teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.
The teachers argue that those who have served for the required period and meet the relevant qualifications should not remain indefinitely in insecure contractual arrangements.
For the affected teachers, permanent and pensionable employment would provide greater job security while giving them a clearer career path and access to long-term employment benefits.
KUNOPPET is also demanding a formal Recognition Agreement with the county government.
Such an agreement would provide the union with an official framework through which it can represent ECDE teachers in employment and labour matters.
The demand is therefore not merely administrative. It goes to the question of whether teachers have an effective collective voice when negotiating their terms and conditions of service.
Court case adds pressure
The negotiations are taking place alongside an ongoing court process.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kitale has already issued directions in the dispute, with KUNOPPET required to file its submissions within seven days and the county government given 14 days to respond.
The parties are expected back in court on October 16, 2026, for further directions, including fixing a date for the ruling.
This makes tomorrow's talks particularly important because a negotiated settlement could provide a quicker way of addressing the dispute before it escalates further.
Although the dispute centres on employment conditions, its consequences could ultimately be felt by children.
ECDE teachers provide the foundation upon which learners develop early literacy, numeracy, communication, social and emotional skills before progressing to primary education.
A prolonged interruption of ECDE services could therefore affect learning at the very stage where children require consistent classroom support.
The dispute also comes at a time when Kenya is placing increasing emphasis on competency-based education and the development of foundational learning skills.
The meeting will provide the county government with an opportunity to respond directly to the teachers' six demands, while the Labour Ministry will be expected to guide the parties towards a workable settlement.
For the teachers, the key issue is whether the negotiations will produce specific commitments, timelines and implementation mechanisms.
For the county government, the challenge is balancing the teachers' demands with available resources and the county's wider financial obligations.
For the Labour Ministry, the test will be whether conciliation can prevent the dispute from developing into a prolonged industrial confrontation.
The six grievances — remuneration, hardship allowance, grading, gratuity, permanent and pensionable employment and union recognition — have now moved from the realm of complaints to the centre of formal negotiations.
The real test tomorrow will therefore not be whether the parties can sit around the same table, but whether they can leave it with a credible agreement capable of restoring confidence among ECDE teachers and, most importantly, protecting uninterrupted learning for West Pokot's youngest learners.
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