Ei-iE

Although Kenyan teachers are back in the classroom after court rulings ended both their month of labour action and halted the government’s plan to hire 70,000 replacement teachers, the biggest issue remains unresolved.

With teachers back in schools and the threat of them being replaced put on hold for now, the root cause of the strike, which began throughout the public system September 2nd and ended last Friday, of unpaid salary increases dating back to 2013, has yet to be resolved.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which continues not to comply with the Employment and Labour Relations Court order dating back to June 30, 2015 to increase teacher pay 50-60 percent from 2013 – 2017, has refused to pay teachers for the month of September. More than 245,000 teachers are set to miss their salaries this month, also contrary to a court decision.

The secretary general of the Kenyan National Union of Teachers, Wilson Sossion, says that teachers have agreed to stop striking for the time being as long as the TSC complies with the court order, or he says they will resort to further action. “We suspended [the] strike for 90 days as ordered by the court and told teachers to be ready for its continuation in January if 50-60 [percent] is not paid,” wrote Sossion via his Twitter account.

Last week Education International (EI) General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen wrote a letter to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, urging him to implement the court ordered pay raise.

"I trust that your government will act swiftly to address the demands of teachers in Kenya, so that they can resume their duties without any victimisation. This will enable the pupils and students to continue with their education without further interruption," the letter indicated.