Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Siaya branch members have made good their strike threat notice to TSC to suspend learning in schools until their demands are met.
The teachers who started their demonstration in Siaya Town expressed their dissatisfaction with the employer the Teachers Service Commission on what they termed as back tracking on some of their previous agreements and unfulfilled promises.
Addressing the Press in Siaya town, branch Executive Secretary of KUPPET, Patrick Omondi cautioned TSC that teachers will not accept the promise of salary rise and increments until their Junior Secondary School (JSS) counterparts are employed on permanent terms.
“Suppose we say that we are satisfied with that salary rise and allowances, where will our brothers and sisters from JSS go? These people were promised permanent and pensionable employment from the First of August, it has come and the tone has changed, nobody is now talking about JSS,” said Omondi.
“We strongly demand that our JSS counterparts be confirmed on a permanent and pensionable basis as was agreed,” he added.
The teachers under KUPPET expressed their worry about the internship of teachers saying that TSC was testing waters by delegating interns, adding that the arrangement poses a threat to the teaching profession in the long run.
Amongst the demands that the teachers want met by their employer are that the statutory deductions be remitted to the respective institutions and alignment of the teachers’ medical cover under a functional scheme.
“We are demanding immediate remittance of all third-party deductions we are owing to the financial institutions,” said Omondi.
The teachers have vowed not to relent in their pursuit to have their grievances addressed until a workable solution is reached between them and their employer TSC.
By Calvin Otieno
