He regretted that ending the strike without meaningful agreement between TSC and teachers would mean that teachers would be on strike again in January at the expiry of the 90-day suspension directed by the court last Friday.
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“We are the only mandated authority to decide if the teachers go back to school or not”, Secretary General Akelo Misori said.
The judge directed Labour Cabinet Secretary to form a conciliatory committee within 30 days to work out modalities of paying the teachers within 90 days.
The Supreme Court ruled in August that state teachers should get a pay rise of at least 50%, but the government said they do not have the money to comply and refused.
But both the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) top officials maintained they will not heed to the court order, pending resolution of some critical issues. “We will be able to give our feelings in the Industrial and Labour Relations Court and, thereafter, we will give direction”, he told journalists in Bomet yesterday.
An industrial court ordered 280,000 Kenyan public-school teachers to suspend their strike for 90 days and asked the Education Ministry to help appoint an arbitrator for the pay dispute. The council is expected to meet in Nairobi today.
And speaking separately, Uasin Gishu Senator Isaac Melly challenged the teachers’ employer to unconditionally withdraw it’s case to avert another round of stalemate.
Odera, however, said employees deserve fair and competitive wages.
Striking Kenyan teachers have set out new conditions to call off the labour dispute that is now in its fourth week.
Justice Nelson Abuodha suspended the strike on Friday and ordered the teachers’ immediate return to school.
He said Knut will be in court tomorrow to argue their case and later make an announcement to teachers on the way forward.
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Judge Monica Mbaru said the unions have violated the rights of the Teachers Service Commission.
