Battered Knut moves to win back members

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to win back more than 86,000 teachers who left the union following its row with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

The 11-member National Steering Committee, led by Secretary-General Wilson Sossion, seeks to woo back teachers across the country after TSC on November 4 gave the union two months to increase its membership, or else the commission would revoke the agreement recognising it.

And with the reality now sinking in among Knut officials — who have been fighting each other — that they could be jobless by January, they have put aside their differences and embarked on the recruitment drive.

Mr Sossion has told teachers during various sessions that a divided union cannot defend their rights.

CBAs

In an advert in the weekend papers on Sunday, TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia said the commission recognises teachers’ unions as key stakeholders in the profession and the critical role they play in representing tutors.

“Initially, TSC had unstructured relationships with the unions. It was not until 2016 that TSC made a fundamental decision to sign collective bargaining agreements with the unions,” said Mrs Macharia.

She added that in its engagement with the union, TSC operates strictly within the legal provisions.

“Any action initiated by the commission is done after careful thought, review, in good faith and in strict conformity with the law. We wish to clarify that under the law, TSC has no power to register or deregister a union as that is the mandate of the registrar of trade unions,” said Mrs Macharia.

RECOGNITION AGREEMENT

She said that, for a recognition agreement between an employer and a union to be sustained, certain minimum requirements must bet met, failing which, the employer will hold on to all dues payable to such a body.

“Further, the process leading to revocation of a recognition agreement is elaborate and intricate. It starts with issuance of notice of intention and culminates in the decision reached by the National Labour Board.

“Parties involved still have an opportunity for conciliation and ultimately, judicial adjudication. This process is succinctly provided for in the by the law,” the TSC boss said.