Kenia: Uhuru pushed for teachers’ new deal

Kenia: Uhuru pushed for teachers’ new deal

Africa/Kenia/Junio de 2016/Daily Nation

Resumen: El presidente Uhuru Kenyatta intervino personalmente para asegurar que los maestros firmaron un acuerdo de negociación colectiva (CBA) con su empleador, poniendo fin a una disputa de tres años que ha ocasionado una serie de huelgas, paralizando la educación en el país.

President Uhuru Kenyatta personally intervened to ensure that teachers signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with their employer, ending a three-year standoff that has occasioned a series of strikes, paralysing education in the country.
Concerned with growing hostility from the teachers almost a year to the next general election, President Kenyatta stepped in and invited officials of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (Kuppet) to State House for several meetings that eventually resulted in the deal.
And when he arrived in Mombasa on Wednesday for the 2016 conference for secondary school headteachers, President Kenyatta met the union leaders at State House, Mombasa, where he thanked them for signing the deal which he termed “historic.”
“As you will recall, a few months ago I asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the teachers’ unions to work towards establishing a harmonious relationship in the education sector,’’ said the President.
He pledged the government’s commitment to work with the unions to improve education standards.
He first met the union officials at State House, Nairobi, in November 2015 and asked them to jump-start the negotiations which had stalled.
In January 2016, a technical committee comprising officers from TSC, Knut and Kuppet was constituted but by March it had not made any headway on the CBA.
The technical committee had postponed its initial meeting more than five times.
In March, President Kenyatta met the union leaders and assured them that once they sign the CBA, it will be the start of a new journey.
In April, TSC chairperson Lydia Nzomo, Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia and other commissioners visited Knut and Kuppet leaders with the intention of mending fences.
Another meeting between Deputy President William Ruto and union leaders was held at his Karen office in May over the same.
However, it emerged that Mr Ruto had taken a hard-line position on the issue as he was insisting that teachers must wait for the validation and job evaluation.
On learning that the government was not about to change its position, the teachers agreed to sign the CBA.
It had also emerged that the government wanted to give them a new CBA from 2016 to 2020, yet they had not formalised gains in allowances that they had been awarded since 2013.
TEAM DISBANDED
After a series of meetings, the technical team that had been constituted in January was disbanded and TSC took charge of preparing the agreement which it submitted to Kuppet and Knut for approval.
Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion and Kuppet Chairman Omboko Milemba on Saturday acknowledged that the intervention of the Head of State played a critical role in striking the deal.
They, however, insisted that the deal was not motivated by political gains and warned that any shift in position over the matter will be rejected by teachers.
Mr Milemba said the union agreed to sign the deal as they see it as a promissory note and expect the government to honour its part of the bargain.
“We will be patient and wait for the basic salary in 2017-2021 deal,” he said.
Mr Sossion also admitted that a series of meetings were held to ensure that a deal was reached.
“We cannot ignore what teachers have benefited and fought for since 2013 and that is why we accepted the deal,” said Mr Sossion.
President Kenyatta has asked those involved to ensure that they conclude the talks before the end of 2016.
Mr Sossion who has been a critic of the government in the recent past and even criticised his chairman Mudzo Nzili for associating with the government defended his change of heart.
“It is not about politics of 2017. Our major concern is the welfare of teachers of this country,” he said.

Foto: El presidente Uhuru Kenyatta con el secretario general Knut Wilson Sossion durante la 41ª conferencia anual de directores de IES en Wild Waters en Mombasa el 22 de junio de 2016. El Presidente intervino personalmente para asegurar que los maestros firmaron un ACB con CET, poniendo fin a una disputa de tres años. FOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NACIÓN MEDIA GROUP
Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Uhuru-teachers-new-deal/-/2643604/3268098/-/pyas4h/-/index.html