Teachers’ Unionism in Kenya: Nine Decades of Trials, Achievements and Betrayals.
The persistent battle between teachers and the Kenyan government over bad working conditions and salary raises has evolved into a complex and long-lasting relationship spanning more than 90 years.
Eliud Mathu and James Gichuru attempted to register the Kenya African Teachers’ Union (Katu) in 1934, but the colonial authorities rejected their attempts. This incident raised teachers’ awareness about the importance of advocating for their rights.
The recent strong rift between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) over a teachers’ strike highlights the government’s tactic of dividing and controlling unions to hinder their quest for better working conditions.
The former Kanu government, believed to have adopted this tactic, registered Kuppet on November 26, 1998, intending to fragment Knut by siphoning off a portion of its members.
Government Tactics
The government’s tactics to undermine teachers’ unions include:
- Denying permits for demonstrations
- Rejecting pay rise demands from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)
- Arresting and detaining union officials
- Deregistering trade unionists from the Employers’ Register of Teachers
- Financially strangling unions by failing to remit teachers’ dues
These methods have forced unions to beg for resources and retreat from their demands.
Union Leaders and their Challenges
While many contemporary teachers are aware of the enormous contributions of earlier leaders such as Ambrose Adeya Adongo, Francis Nganga, Wilson Sossion, and Collins Oyuu, few grasp the challenges of organizing and managing strikes.
Knut’s First National Vice Chairman, Malel Langat, noted that a dying generation of unionists and retired educators profoundly ingrained Knut’s history as a pioneer of teachers’ trade unions in their recollections. He said that previous leaders laid the groundwork for current leaders to continue advocating for better conditions.
Both Kuppet and Knut officials acknowledge that spearheading the campaign for teachers’ rights is a difficult assignment requiring both aggressiveness and diplomacy. Misori stated that while starting a strike is easier, stopping it involves more complexities.
He further noted that building unity among unions is practically impossible due to internal betrayal and dishonesty. During a strike, Oyuu commented that balancing gains and member expectations is difficult, frequently necessitating harsh choices between populism and doing the right thing.
Recent Strike Developments
Oyuu asserted that prolonging a strike after addressing major issues could potentially be detrimental. He stressed that Knut’s decision to withdraw the strike notice on August 26, 2024, was not the same as calling off the strike, as it had not yet begun.
Misori, as Secretary General, highlighted the importance of leadership in making difficult decisions, even if they were unpopular.
Historical Key Figures and Events
Former President Daniel Moi, a teacher himself, played an important part in registering Knut in 1959 after proposing its foundation in 1957. However, during Moi’s administration, tensions grew between him and union officials over requests for better working conditions.
On October 1, 1998, Moi reprimanded Adongo and pushed him to apologize for the government’s failure to execute promised wage increases. The conflict resulted in a high-stakes discussion involving military transportation to Kabarak and an agreement on the first phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Moi’s intervention and guarantees, despite additional financial challenges and another month-long strike, led to a resolution, although the full implementation of wage hikes faced delays. During President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, teachers demanded the CBA’s remaining phases. The Treasury eventually reduced the mandate to spread the increment over ten years, ending in 2007.
Notable Strikes in Union History
The first teachers’ strike in 1963 paved the way for a larger one in 1966, which inspired the formation of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) under the TSC Act of 1966. This statute was enacted in 1967 after the resignation of KNUT president Job Rob, who was alleged to have made a deal with the government for personal gain.
Adongo, a recognized leader known for his strong voice, led Knut for 31 years before his death on March 1, 2001. Knut’s founding general secretary, Joseph Kioni, had previously faced imprisonment due to politically fabricated allegations. Imprisonment ended Kioni’s union career despite his efforts to restore his position.
Ongoing Union Struggles
The TSC has consistently employed a divide-and-conquer strategy with teachers’ unions, even when the issues are comparable. This technique was obvious in previous disputes, as Kuppet and Knut, although initially agreeing to pursue the issues together, parted ways.
On August 25, 2024, Kuppet opted to prolong the strike, but Knut retracted its strike notice hours later, resulting in contradictory actions from the two unions.
The TSC and teachers’ unions clashed the most in 2015 when the TSC offered a 35% compensation rise, which Knut rejected in favour of a 50-60% increase.
Despite the instructors’ victory in the court battle, their pay stubs never reflected the raise. The government replied by shutting off union subsidies, putting Kuppet and Knut in a difficult financial situation.
KNUT
Knut is still recuperating from the poor economic impact that caused national and branch authorities, workers, and suppliers to go unpaid for two years, with many officials succumbing to depression and some quitting their posts entirely.
Financial institutions withdrew loans to employees and officials; landlords evicted branch officials from their offices; and assets like buses and furniture were auctioned off.
“In 2021, most branch officials were re-elected unopposed, not because of a lack of competition, but because the positions were no longer attractive due to the union’s lack of funds and the uncertainty of their careers,” said Alice Bor, a member of Knut’s National Executive Council (NEC).
Kuppet officials argued that the National Executive Board (NEB) called off the strike without consulting the National Governing Council (NGC), the senior decision-making body.
Mr Misori referred to the schism and called for a truce two days later, writing to officials in an internal communication that those dissatisfied with the decision should wait for the NGC to assemble so they could vent their concerns.
“We have a few leaders who are claiming they were not informed of the meeting resolutions. I was shocked by that since we have a channel of communication, and the issues we used to go on strike were addressed,” Mr Misori said in Mombasa.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes, the government used divide-and-rule methods to coerce the Kuppet high brass into giving in to TSC pressure to call off the strike, threatening to close secondary schools, with some institutions allowing their students to return home.
On Wednesday, September 4, Kuppet and TSC filed the document they signed to end the strike, which began on August 26, 2024. The parties also dropped the lawsuits and countersuits they had filed in court.
Dr Nancy Macharia, the TSC’s face, has come under fire for reportedly impeding the implementation of teacher pay increases. Dr Macharia was pleased to confirm that the government had allocated funds to implement the second phase of the CBA starting July 1, 2024.
She also noted that the government had successfully fulfilled all the provisions of the 2021-2025 CBA with the teacher unions. The government paid the second phase of the CBA, scheduled to begin on July 1, 2024, along with the arrears in August 2024.
She also announced the start of the Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) review, the settlement of third-party deductions, the restoration of the medical scheme financing, and the availability of both public and private hospitals for teachers under the new program.
Teachers’ Unionism in Kenya: Nine Decades of Trials, Achievements and Betrayals..
