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KNUT demands for full package
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- Published on Tuesday, 07 October 2008 18:27
Speaking during the marking of the World Teachers day, KNUT Acting Deputy Secretary General David Okuta says the Teachers Service Remuneration Committee that was formed to negotiate with the government over salaries has met with the government thrice and none of the promises has been implemented.
The last time the government increased teachers salary was in 1997. At the same time KNUT says it was not opposed to KUPPET'S strike which was called off last week but added that it must have enough members a move they have not accomplished for it to be recognized. Meanwhile, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) members have called on their secretary-general, Njeru Kanyamba to resign for calling off a planned strike to push Government to harmonise their salaries with those of civil servants without consulting them.
Officials of Kisii, Nyamira and Gucha branches said the decision by the national office to suspend the mass action was unilateral and totally uncalled for. "He (Kanyamba) should have convened a national executive council meeting to sanction the move. We consider this his own remarks and our members are very bitter with him," said Edward Obwocha, the Kuppet Kisii branch chairman.
Addressing a press conference in Kisii Town, Obwocha said that he only received a phone call from Kanyamba informing him of the strikes' call off as set out in the union regulations. "Our members are mad with us as they were ready to down tools. They are now demanding for an urgent national delegates meeting to discuss the conduct of the secretary general in regard to this matter and the national office," he added.
Kuppet's Nyamira branch executive secretary George Nyangongo and his Gucha counterpart, Ben Nyaundi, echoed Obwocha's remarks. "We are dismayed that the demands spelt out to the government to implement in three months in turn to suspend the strike have little to do with teachers' welfare," charged Nyangongo.
Nyaundi said teachers felt shortchanged as they were already in the mood to go on strike and there is no convincing reason as to why it was called off. Elsewhere, acting Secretary General of the KNUT Lawrence Majali has said teachers will not sign Performance Contracts as they are not familiar with what is contained in them.
Addressing teachers during the KNUT elections for the newly created Gatundu District, Majali added that schemes of work and lesson plans were enough measuring tools and teachers will not succumb to the Government's dictates. He added that the union will continue to wage a fearless fight for the rights of teachers adding that they would not let the teachers sign anything suspicious.
Majali called as unfair the promotion of untrained teachers after a two week in-service course while P1 and A -level untrained teachers were not promoted even though they have served several years.
