KNUT Officials Ignore Sossion, Seek to Solve Conflict With TSC

Kenya National Union of Teachers officials (Knut) have started talks with the teachers’ employer TSC to have their 42 members who were sacked reinstated.

219 teachers under Knut had been facing disciplinary action for disrupting Competency-Based Curriculum training in various parts of the country when 42 were relieved of duty as 124 others got interdiction letters.

There has been a row between the teachers’ union and TSC, something that has caused Knut members to miss out on services including salary increment.

Knut members have not been able to receive their salary increment under phase three of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), for two months now, as the union had pending cases in court.

During the meeting, Knut officials asked TSC to lift the salary increment suspension and to unlock the stalled monthly remittance union dues that amount to about 240 million shillings.

Knut also sought to bring back its members who had dumped the union for Knut’s rival as the row between the union and TSC saw thousands of teachers shift allegiance.

The meeting between Knut and TSC was chaired by TSC Administrative Services Director Ibrahim Mumin, on behalf of CEO Nancy Macharia.

Knut’s Wycliff Omuchei and Hesbon Otieno said that TSC was willing to engage the union in matters affecting the teachers and make possible solutions.

“It is delightful that we are having talks with the commissioners over how to solve issues challenging the teachers, including to disband suspension of our members’ salary,” said Otieno.

The officials also apologized to the commission on behalf of their sacked and interdicted members and asked TSC to consider reinstating them as they were misled by embattled Secretary-general Wilson Sossion.

The union’s leadership said that their reason for meeting their employer was to make sure that the teachers work in peace seeing that the term is short and there are exams ahead.

The officials, led by chairman Wycliffe Omuchei and acting Secretary-General Hesbon Otieno are reported to have ignored a meeting of the Steering Committee called by Wilson Sossion before they went ahead to meet TSC.

“We shall not attend any meetings called by Sossion. He is not recognized on Knut’s leadership ranks,” they said.