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KNUT threatens strike over breach of wage agreement following budget cuts

Learning in schools across the country could soon come to a standstill if the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) makes good on its strike threats.

According to KNUT President Patrick Karinga, his members will strike at the beginning of the third term if the government fails to comply with the 2021 Collective Labour Agreement.

Karinga explained that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was not honouring the salary increase agreements that were agreed in 2021 due to recent budget cuts.

TSC is estimated to lose around Sh10 billion according to the new budget estimates.

A photo of the Teachers Services Commission, with its president Nancy Macharia addressing journalists on February 23

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CTS

“If they don’t respect it, we can do the opposite. They know that teachers are organized and they know how they are going to demand what they are owed.

“If they have not done what is expected of them by July 31, then they will have to wait for another language,” the president said.

He therefore called on the Commission to engage Parliament again to ensure that the allocation for the CBA was not touched.

“KNUT calls on the TSC to ensure that the legal agreement is respected,” the KNUT official said.

If carried out, the strike will paralyse education at a critical time given that fourth-year students will be taking their exams just two months after the reopening for the third semester.

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is expected to begin on November 4. However, some subjects, such as music practice and French, will begin from October 22.

The academic calendar has already been adjusted due to the floods in May which caused a two-week extended closure of schools.

The Ministry of Education and the TSC have not yet responded to the teachers’ demands.

Members of Parliament during the reading of the 2024 Budget.

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Parliament