Do not bite a hand that feeds you. This is a common saying that has stood the test of time no matter how mundane it may be. Right now, it can easily apply to the current stalemate surrounding the Teachers Service Commission and the Kenya National Union of Teachers. Several narratives are being spun about dehorning. The mega question is “which cow will be dehorned, TSC or KNUT?”
The correct substitution for dehorning should be milking. If you look through my prism, you can easily tell which cow shall be milked dry. To start with, the Teachers Service Commission is already two steps ahead in resolving whatever reasons KNUT union officials may be giving in a bid to at least clutch at a straw. The fact is KNUT Secretary General’s frantic efforts can be compared to the last kicks of a dying horse. I am a teacher and I could not think twice when allowed to click the red button. Mr Sossion lost relevance when he orchestrated to trade the interests of Kenyan teachers for handouts. This is when KNUT bit hands that feed it and lost both heaven and earth.
This story has taken a dramatic twist since the Teachers Service Commission of Kenya maintained its ground. I do salute the masterminds behind crisis management at the TSC. Your strategies are simply appalling.
To start with, the Teachers Service Commission decided to run parallel payrolls for KNUT and KUPPET members. After all, which other commission is mandated to do so other than the TSC?
Secondly, all KNUT members failed to receive the agreed salary rise for the third phase of the 13 billion Kenyan shillings contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This CBA was set to end in July this year. The rationale behind this is that there is no way you can enjoy the benefits of what you have not toiled for.
Thirdly, KNUT members will be crying foul as their counterparts from KUPPET reap big in terms of promotions. The court order issued during the legal case filed by KNUT against the TSC reversed the new TSC career progression guidelines thus re-introducing the already banned schemes of service. Talk of salivating…
Fourthly, the TSC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Nancy Macharia confirmed that the commission is planning to recover all funds paid to all teachers (who are KNUT members) for the last two years during which the new CBA was implemented. She further termed this payment as an overpayment of salaries which the commission has been tasked to recover as a government liability. Does this mean more misery for the same teachers that KNUT purports to fight for?
Pushed to the edge, KNUT now seeks to have the teachers taken back under the Ministry of Education.
This is, however, water under the bridge since it is already clear that the Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA), Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) and Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) will issue statements in defence of their employer-TSC.
Besides, KUPPET and KEWOTA have already handed in a proposal to KNUT’s new-found escapism supporting the independence of the TSC. This is why some critics have compared KNUT to a child, who bowed by extreme pressure, has to go back to the TSC and say ‘Mama I am sorry for I have learnt a lesson.’
