- West Pokot ECDE teachers have been urged to remain at work as their employment dispute enters formal conciliation.
- Hillary Muhalya reports that the union and county employer are expected before the Labour Office on October 8.
- Teachers are seeking improved remuneration, hardship allowance, proper grading, gratuity and permanent and pensionable employment terms.
West Pokot ECDE teachers have been urged to remain patient and continue reporting to work as efforts intensify to resolve a long-running dispute over salaries, allowances, grading and employment terms.
The call by the Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (KUNOPPET) Secretary-General comes as the dispute enters a formal conciliation process before the West Pokot County Labour Office.
The union leadership has asked teachers to continue working as alternative efforts are explored to address their grievances, signalling that the union is pursuing dialogue and other available avenues as it seeks a settlement with the county government.
The development comes after the West Pokot County Labour Office formally summoned KUNOPPET and the West Pokot County Public Service Board for a joint conciliation meeting scheduled for October 8, 2026, at 2pm at the County Labour Office in Kapenguria.
The meeting will be chaired by Moses Lokito, who has been appointed as the conciliator in the trade dispute.
According to the Labour Office letter dated September 28, 2026, the dispute revolves around six key demands by ECDE teachers.
They include implementation of the August 10, 2023 Salaries and Remuneration Commission advisory on ECDE teachers’ remuneration, together with subsequent remuneration cycles.
Teachers are also seeking hardship allowance, appropriate job grading and designation, and payment of gratuity for the period served under contract.
Another major demand is the conversion of a section of ECDE teachers from contractual employment to permanent and pensionable terms.
KUNOPPET is also seeking the signing of a Recognition Agreement, which would provide a formal framework for engagement between the union and the county employer.
Union urges patience
With the conciliation process now formally underway, the KUNOPPET leadership is asking teachers not to abandon their classrooms while negotiations and alternative interventions continue.
The appeal places emphasis on maintaining learning activities in ECDE centres while the union pursues a solution to the employment and remuneration grievances.
The Labour Office has directed both sides to submit their written proposals before the scheduled conciliation meeting, giving the two parties an opportunity to formally present their positions and proposed solutions.
The October 8 meeting could therefore provide a significant opportunity for the union and county government to narrow their differences over the teachers’ terms of service.
For ECDE teachers, the dispute is not limited to salaries. It encompasses remuneration, hardship compensation, professional grading, gratuity, employment security and recognition of their collective bargaining representation.
The formal intervention by the Labour Office now provides a structured platform for those issues to be addressed.
For the moment, the union’s message to teachers is clear: remain patient, continue serving learners and allow alternative efforts to resolve the dispute to proceed.
The latest development follows KUNOPPET’s seven-day strike notice issued on September 24, which had indicated that members employed by the West Pokot County Government would withdraw their services from October 2 unless their grievances were addressed. The notice listed remuneration, grading, hardship allowance, gratuity, employment terms and union recognition among the disputed issues.
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West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin told the Senate Education Committee in June that the county employs 1,662 ECDE teachers serving a public ECDE system comprising 1,214 centres and 76,019 learners.
By Hillary Muhalya
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