Knut, Kuppet: The story of the TSC darling who now wears a shoe on the opposite foot and how the tables have turned.
As teachers connected to the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) agitated for their concerns with their employer, demonstrations shook the opening week of the third school term across the nation.
While Kuppet has been struggling and in conflict with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), their colleagues affiliated with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) returned to work quietly on Monday.
With just a few hours remaining before the strike began on Sunday, Knut secretary-general Collins Oyuu canceled the notification.
In this situation, the roles are completely reversed; Kuppet has long been perceived as the less confrontational teachers’ union since its founding in 1998, whereas Knut has a history of being fiery leaders.
After a national strike in 1997, then-President Daniel arap Moi encouraged the creation of Kuppet as a countermovement to Knut.
Since Kuppet is on the receiving end of the government’s adoration and Knut seems to have softened, the current standoff between TSC and Kuppet is an example of the shoe being on the other foot.
Julius Migos, the secretary of the Education Cabinet, and the TSC have commended Knut for putting off the strike.
“With the TSC, we have formed a technical team. A list of over 20,000 people who are eligible for promotions has been sent to you. Experienced individuals have no knowledge of strikes.
“We can see far because we have been there before. Our members are safe, and we have withdrawn the notification. I did what was right since I wasn’t in a popularity contest,” Mr. Oyuu said to the Nation.
“Kuppet has claimed that we work for the government. We’re currently doing what they did for a very long period. They will be hurt.
On August 25, 2024, Secretary General Collins Oyuu of the Kenya National Union of Teachers addresses the media at the Union’s Nairobi offices.
He asserted that although they had decided on Saturday night to revoke the strike notices with the Kuppet leadership, the organization’s national governing committee was adamant about going on strike.
Kuppet and TSC exchanged letters on Thursday, suggesting a chilly relationship between the two.
Akello Misori, secretary-general of Kuppet, charged TSC with employing “dirty tricks” after the employer turned down Kuppet’s request for a meeting to discuss the current problems. The union must call off the strike before the commission would meet, it maintained.
“We convey our profound apprehension regarding the unscrupulous tactics the TSC is utilizing to prolong the ongoing work stoppage in its attempts to penalize Kuppet. Should aborting the strike be a prerequisite for initiating contact, then why did the TSC contact us, fully aware that we had not done so?
Mr. Misori called a press conference at his office late on Thursday night. “It is obvious that the commission was setting us up to portray the union as desperate for a meeting or giving up on the strike,” he said.
“The TSC’s self-serving objective is to make Kuppet pay for his actions and console Knut, who left the strike under duress. The purpose of the union is to bargain. On the other hand, we refuse to bargain under duress. “Our spirit will not be dampened by draconian tactics against union officials,” he declared.
According to Mr. Misori, TSC failed to withhold union dues from its members’ August paychecks for submission to Kuppet.
This was the same tactic used in 2019 amid a significant disagreement with Knut, a move that nearly brought the union to its knees. Wilson Sossion was Knut’s secretary-general at the time.
Knut members who left the union at that time were not eligible for an increase under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) since TSC had implemented an exit command on the teachers portal (T-Pay).
Mr. Misori emphasized the threat T-pay poses to unions in his book Teachers, Unions and Labor Relations in Kenya; A History of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers.
“Apart from the fact that the system was not mandated by law, Kuppet had no issues with it.
“Section 48 of the Labour Relations Act specifies the process for trade union recruitment. According to this clause, in order to become a member of a union, an individual must sign a list provided by the union and submit it to their employer.
According to the book, “the employer is required to deduct union dues and submit the same to the union within 30 days once a member has fulfilled this process.”
The union foresaw that the system that authorizes teachers’ payments to outside parties will be used against them in the future, but it did not fight against it.
We created a method to outwit the commission since we were afraid it would exploit the system to cut down on our membership. The book claims, “We sent teams to schools to assist teachers in carrying out the validation and issued iPads to all national officials and staff to facilitate their recruitment of new members.”
They did not, it seems, take sufficient action to circumvent the system.
On Friday, Mr. Sossion accused the commission of undermining unions through “asphyxiation” tactics.
They ought to deal with the concerns brought up. A lawfully protected strike cannot be criminalized by the use of the courts. The employer has an obligation to make check-offs, or deductions. Both intimidation and this divide-and-rule strategy are unacceptable, Mr. Sossion told the Nation.
He went on to say that the methods are not new, giving the example of the 1969 imprisonment of Knut secretary-general Stephen Kioni on suspicion of stealing Sh5,000 intended for teachers from the Murang’a Knut branch.
“Uhuru Kenyatta planned my removal from office and had me locked up.” Unions in Africa should take note of this and switch from check-off to standing orders for members to pay dues. Members must receive value from their membership in order for them to accomplish that. Unions need to be efficient and open. stated Mr. Sossion.
Knut, Kuppet: The story of the TSC darling who now wears a shoe on the opposite foot and how the tables have turned.
