CS Mutua meets KNUT officials in bid to avert teachers’ strike

By Peter Ochieng

Cabinet Secretary Labour and Social Protection Dr. Alfred Mutua held a meeting with Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), in a bid to avert teachers strike.

Over the weekend, KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu threatened to mobilise the union’s members across the country, to go on strike if the government fails to honour their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Oyuu said the 2021-2025 CBA which is registered with the Employment and Labour Relations Court, must be enforced, and the 2.5% to 9% salary increase awarded to teachers should be implemented.

“Teachers are prepared to go on strike. If the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) does not honour the second phase of the CBA, teachers will not resume work when schools reopen on August 26, 2024,” he warned.

“Teachers in this country have been undermined. They are not like other workers. I will not consult on the CBA again. What is in court is in court; what we want is the implementation of the CBA.”

Taking first steps towards preventing a looming strike, CS Mutua, fresh from being sworn in last week, convened a meeting with Oyuu and his team on Tuesday.

“The union raised several key issues, including the delay in implementing the second phase of the 2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which promised a salary increment of 7% to 9%, as well as concerns about the teachers’ medical scheme, non-remittance of SACCO and loan deductions, and delays in retirement benefit payments,” said the former Machakos governor.

“I assured the union leaders of my commitment to finding swift resolutions to these issues and pledged to collaborate with my Cabinet colleagues and other relevant government bodies to address their concerns,” he added.

The meeting, Mutua added, reflects the government's efforts to ensure that the interests of workers are safeguarded and that industrial relations remain cordial.

Schools are expected to reopen for the third term, on August 26, 2024.