The Teachers' Service Commission (TSC) has now issued a demand that secondary school teachers end their strike before any negotiations can take place. This ultimatum comes after the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) requested a meeting with the commission on Thursday afternoon to discuss a return-to-work agreement.
The letter, addressed to TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia, followed ongoing nationwide demonstrations by teachers, who have rejected the recent salary increment announced by TSC, calling it insufficient and insulting to their profession.
Despite a court order issued earlier in the week suspending the strike, the industrial action entered its fourth day, with teachers continuing to stay away from classrooms. At Daraja Mbili Secondary School in Kitutu Chache South Constituency, Kisii County, the usual buzz at the start of the shortest term in the academic calendar was replaced by silence, as teachers remained absent and students were left to study on their own.
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KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori, in a letter sent days after the court order, reaffirmed that the union is committed to resolving the issues peacefully and within the law. However, TSC responded by insisting that teachers must first comply with the court's directive and call off the strike before any discussions can proceed. The commission maintained that it had already fulfilled the final phase of the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and paid the teachers' salary arrears retroactively from July 1, 2024. Additionally, TSC stated that it had addressed all the concerns raised by KUPPET in a letter dated August 19, 2024.
Nevertheless, teachers across the country remained defiant, staging protests in various regions. In Kisii County, teachers took to the streets in a sea of yellow, marching with placards displaying their grievances and even carrying a casket as a symbol of protest. They shut down the town, disrupting transport and rejecting the TSC's proposed salary increment as insufficient.
A similar situation unfolded in Lamu County, where teachers accused the TSC of reneging on previous agreements. In Vihiga County, teachers demanded the remittance of statutory deductions to relevant institutions and the proper alignment of their medical cover under a functional scheme. Teachers in Machakos County echoed these concerns, staging demonstrations in three sub-counties and calling for promotions and acting allowances for those in temporary positions.
In Nandi County, Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers joined KUPPET's demonstrations, pushing for the immediate confirmation of 46,000 intern JSS teachers.
