Teachers strike to stay. Sossion

Just hours after the High Court on Friday September 4 declared on-going teachers strike illegal, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) boss Wilson Sossion has maintained that the work boycott will stay.

Knut officially called the strike on Tuesday September 1, to protest government’s failure to award the teachers salary increase of between 50 and 60% following a Supreme Court ruling.

The government says its broke and that such monies were not catered for in the 2015/16 budget which will lead to taking unprecedented measures as increasing taxes or cutting down on development budget to pay the teachers.

Some KSh 17 billion are required to effect the salary hike this financial year, but the Supreme Court ordered the government to backdate the salaries to 2013 when the pay talks went into a stalemate.

On Friday September 4, Lady Justice Monicah Mbaru told teachers that the strike was unprotected by law because they did not furnish the employer, Teachers Service Commission (TSC), with a notice of strike as reired by the Labour Relations Act.

    “Upon the confirmation by the unions that their members are on strike in their enjoyment of their rights under Article 41 of the Constitution, the court finds that the strike is without such due process and is not protected,” Justice Mbaru said.

However, Sossion has maintained that the strike stays and advised teachers not to step in classrooms.

Speaking to Capital FM, Sossion said that the strike had not been explicitly declared illegal.

    “If what (Education CS Jacob) Kaimenyi and government is anything to go by, they have done their best to use back doors to get ex parte orders and they have not been granted any orders from any court and we are glad with the Judiciary. The strike is indeed legal, it was not declared illegal in the first place in the month of January so it continues to remain legal, so we are happy the court has not granted orders to stop it,” he stated.

Schools across the country opened for the third term of the academic year on Monday August 31.

Earlier the Supreme Court had awarded the teachers 50 – 60% pay hike, but TSC is separately contesting the award saying that the court overlooked an appeal filed

before the ruling was made.

The case will be heard on Friday September 11.

Source: Tuko.co.ke