By Peter Otuoro
Kenya Union of Secondary School Non-Teaching Staff (KUSSNTS) has urged the government, through the Public Service Commission, to employ all non-teaching staff under permanent and pensionable terms.
Speaking during a four-day Murang’a County Bursar Training Workshop held at Kunset Hotel in Nakuru, KUSSNTS National Deputy Secretary General Josephat Kamau said thousands of non-teaching staff in schools suffer in the hands of brutal Boards of Management, who do not adequately remunerate them for services rendered.
“Non-teaching staff have families and yet at times, they do not get paid for six months or more. That act demoralizes them, rendering them constantly stressed and ineffective in service delivery,” he said.
He further explained that their members dance to the tunes of the BOMs, hence lack of the free will to work professionally and deliver services as is required.
The union boss went on to explain that were the non-teaching staff employed on permanent and pensionable terms, they stand to enjoy job security like other civil servants in the country.
Kamau urged the school BOMs to compensate non-teaching staff their Covid-19 dues.
“Some BOMs haven’t paid their non-teaching staff their Covid-19 dues. We would like to encourage them to do so because the staff have personal obligations to take care of. The staff will only be motivated to work well if they are remunerated,” he offered.
He thanked the BOMs for ensuring that they make NHIF and NSSF remittances on time for all non-teaching staffs.
“I would like to thank most of BOMs for their act of paying members’ NHIF and NSSF dues on time, but they should also pay them their salaries on time, because the salaries can be readily demanded for use, unlike NHIF and NSSF will be used in future”, said Kamau.
Kamau told the over 400 bursars from Murang’a County to register with the KUSSNTS in order to make it a stronger union.
“When we are many we will have sufficient bargaining power and the government will be ready to hear our grievances and address them to our own benefit and for better service delivery in our secondary schools,” he said.
Kamau said all non-teaching staffs in secondary schools such as bursars, finance officers, laboratory technicians, librarians, secretaries, school drivers, store keepers, security officers and catering staff among others qualify to register as KUSSNT members.
The unionist, who was accompanied by KUSSNTS National Treasurer Mathew Kimosop, said they currently have 11,000 members and they will organize a mass recruitment of secondary schools non-teaching staffs in all the 47 counties to ensure that they get an avenue to release their voice and be heard by the relevant authorities.
“Currently we have over 11,000 members countrywide, with every member contributing Sh200 monthly,” he said.
Kamau said KUSSNTS has made the initiative of meeting education stakeholders among them Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha who assured them of his support.
He also indicated that the union leaders have held several meetings with the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education Florence Mutua, adding that the discussions were fruitful and that several bills were on the floor of the House designed to cater for the needs of the non-teaching staff.
KUSSNTS was officially registered in 2017. It became fully operational in 2019.
