Doreen Kiremi, a junior school teacher, was puzzled to see deductions from her pay slip paid to the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) despite never requesting to leave the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut).
An elected Knut member, Ms Kiremi says she has been a loyal member of the KNUT since 2015 and wants the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to restore her membership immediately.
“I was shocked to find myself in Kuppet yet since 2015, I have grown in Knut, Knut has fattened me, and therefore I cannot betray my union,” said the junior school teacher based in Meru Central said.
Her experience reflects growing disquiet among a section of 9,830 junior school teachers, who learnt through their pay slips recently that they had been moved from Knut without their consent. The TSC deducted the agency fees and remitted them to KUPPET for the October and November salaries.
The teachers say the changes have left them questioning whether their freedom of association is being respected, particularly as the two unions battle over who should represent educators in comprehensive schools.
However, the TSC director for Legal, Labour and Industrial Relations, Cavin Anyuor, told Nation on Sunday that the commission deducted and remitted the money to KUPPET in response to a court order issued on September 17 2026.
Teachers Service Commission Chairman Jamleck Muturi (right) and Director of Legal and Industrial Relations Calvin Anyuor when they appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Education at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on December 19, 2022.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
“We’ve not taken any side. Legally speaking, junior school teachers are secondary school teachers and earn the salary of secondary school teachers negotiated by KUPPET. They have qualifications of secondary school teachers, and once we’re settled, there should be transferability of teachers between junior and senior schools,” Mr Anyuor said.
He explained that the agency fees for all the 9,830 teachers will not be remitted to KUPPET for the November salaries after the Employment and Labour Relations Court on October 29 set aside the orders given September 17 and dismissed the case filed by KUPPET.
While Kuppet maintains that junior school teachers are post-primary educators who should belong to the union, Knut argues that they should be free to choose their union, noting their placement in comprehensive schools headed by primary school head teachers makes them natural members of Knut.
A teacher from Siaya says educators should not be coerced into joining a union that does not represent the interests of their constituency.
“We should not be coerced to be members of a union that does not represent the interests of our constituency, which is comprehensive schools. We ask TSC to ensure that our freedom of association is not violated,” the teacher said.
The teachers said they got a rude shock when they checked their pay slips that showed deductions in favour of Kuppet despite no request to switch from Knut.
Regina Omondi, a junior school teacher in Nairobi, says she was a Knut member while teaching in primary school and was willing to remain in the union after deployment to junior school.
“I never made any request to switch to Kuppet yet learnt from my pay slip recently that money had been deducted courtesy of Kuppet,” she says.
Similar sentiments were shared by Karanja Mutahi, another deployed teacher in Nairobi, who notes that while his deployment to junior school was voluntary, his movement to Kuppet was not.
“I feel like I was forced into the union. I noticed the movement from Knut to Kuppet on my last two payslips, but I did not request the transfer,” he says.
The complaints have emerged amid a longstanding dispute over the representation of teachers in primary and post-primary institutions.
The deployment of primary school teachers to junior schools following the rollout of the competency-based education (CBE) has intensified the contest, with Kuppet arguing that the affected teachers now fall under its constituency.
Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu (left) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers Secretary-General Akelo Misori.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Kuppet secretary-general Akelo Misori argues that the deployment effectively moved the affected teachers into the post-primary education sector, yet they continued to be represented by a union whose recognition agreement covers primary school teachers.
“It is illegal to have a union cling to members who have expressed the intention to be in another union,” Mr Misori says.
The union has maintained that junior school teachers should be represented by Kuppet, given their placement within the post-primary education structure.
However, the complaints from teachers who say they did not request the change have put the spotlight on how membership transfers are being effected.
Knut Nairobi branch executive secretary Mugwe Macharia says the courts have pronounced themselves on the matter, allowing teachers to join a union of their choice despite the existing demarcation.
Knut secretary-general Collins Oyuu has rejected accusations that the union is holding on to teachers who wish to join Kuppet, saying members are free to choose their union.
He says the dispute over union demarcation dates back to 2018, when the two unions agreed to organise teachers based on the institutions where they are domiciled, rather than their academic qualifications.
“If you are domiciled in secondary school under the principal, you belong to Kuppet. If you are domiciled in primary under the head teacher, you belong to Knut,” he says.
Mr Oyuu argues that the arrangement was reached to avoid friction between the unions and was supported by the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU).
He says Knut withdrew its court petition in good faith to respect the demarcation, but accuses Kuppet of attempting to recruit teachers from its constituency.
He noted Knut closed this file after withdrawing the case, then “… somebody from nowhere, out of personal greed and aggrandisement, goes to court to steal members of this union”.
“They tried it for 9, 830 teachers who were deployed to junior schools, and it’s the court that returned them back to us because their choice was to be in Knut,” said Mr Oyuu.
He maintained Knut shall not surrender the interests of its members through intimidation, unilateral interpretation and disregard of the rule of law.
“We are receiving complaint letters here on the switch to Kuppet from teachers including officials of Knut that noticed the change on their pay slips,” said Oyuu.
