Top officials from Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) have concluded a week-long retreat in Naivasha that addressed contentious clauses in a new five-year recognition agreement.
The agreement, traditionally renewed every five years since the first signing in 1968, regulates industrial relations between the teachers' union and their employer, TSC.
It outlines the framework for negotiations over terms and conditions of service for teachers and once the review is completed, the finalised document will be signed and deposited with the Registrar of Trade Unions, making it a legally binding instrument.
Among the contentious issues in the recognition agreement dealt with in Naivasha are the number of Knut branches nationwide, union representation for heads of institutions and rights and privileges as defined in the 2010 Constitution.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu told Nation.Africa on Friday that the meeting was fruitful and that it ironed out various issues relating to teachers’ welfare in the country.
“We dealt with the issues of improved labour charter, staffing, transfers, industrial relations among others,” Mr Oyuu said.
He said the issues that had been highlighted in the meeting would be dealt with and fine-tuned by a committee whose members were appointed by the union and the commission.
“We strongly hold the position that the issues relating to the welfare of teachers should be dealt with harmoniously with the parties not necessarily resorting to industrial action,” Mr Oyuu said.
He said the union expects to sign the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with TSC as required in law as the 2021-2025 deal will expire at the end of June 2025.
Relations between the two parties soured after a bitter dispute in 2019 that saw the union membership shrink to just over 10,000.
However, this has improved in recent years, with membership rebounding to over 100,000.
The current recognition agreement was signed by the parties on August 8, 2021.
For the first time, Knut was assigned the role of representing teaching in primary schools only as opposed to the previous arrangement when membership was open to all teachers.
“To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the provision of this agreement, the employer shall exclusively engage with the union on matters pertaining to the terms and conditions of service of all eligible members,” the new draft document reads in part.
It binds Knut and TSC to undertake negotiations concerning the terms and conditions of service in respect of members of the union who are employed by the commission.
The draft agreement also emphasises the importance of negotiations being conducted in a structured, professional manner.
“Negotiations between the employer and the union shall be conducted in a free and conducive environment and in a proper structured, cordial, and professional manner devoid of threats to, or actual industrial action or lock out by either party,” it states.
The document further states that all agreements reached between the Knut and TSC shall be committed in writing and signed by both parties at the end of the meeting whenever there are disputes.
In cases where negotiations fail, the document mandates that disputes be referred to the Cabinet secretary for Labour under the Labour Relations Act of 2007.
However, Knut is seeking to amend this clause to allow for an appeal in the High Court of Kenya, if necessary.
Disputes between the commission and the union date back to more than 60 years ago and have been recurrent despite the legally negotiated and signed documents in place.
On August 25, 2024, Knut called off a planned strike a day before it took effect, following an agreement with the commission over a raft of issues that had been raised including employment of 46,000 junior school teachers.
The commission has so far addressed a number of the issues with the employment of teachers ongoing, while advertisement of another 20,000 workers is out.
