Mombasa Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) branch have vowed that their members will not resume work until the government heeds their demands as school reopens for the third term.
Security officers led by Mvita Sub-County Police Commander Maxwell Agoro thwarted attempts by the teachers who had converged at the Uhuru Gardens along the busy Moi Avenue ready to protest chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards.
KUPPET Mombasa Branch Executive Secretary Lynette Kamadi’s pleas to the police to allow them to protest fell on deaf ears as they lacked a permit.
Kamadi said they want the confirmation of Junior Secondary School teachers to permanent and pensionable terms, employment of an additional 20,000 teachers, and the government to honour the 2021/2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) “not giving us promissory notes”.
“We want the government to remit our third-party deductions to our respective banks and institutions to avoid being listed. We also want the Government of Kenya to stop hiring people on cheap labour and converting us to contractual workers,” she stated.
The Executive Secretary noted that teaching is a serious profession and they will not allow themselves to be turned into contract workers.
She urged the teachers to go home and not to get into a confrontation with the police as they follow up to secure a permit.
“I am going to work tooth and nail to ensure that we get the permit. Today, no school no chalk. Don’t show yourself near any teaching institution,” said Kamadi.
The teachers said they will leverage social media to air their grievances by way of sending messages to the Teachers Service Commission’s top echelons.
By Sadik Hassan
