Teachers are Leaving KNUT and KUPPET Unions in Large Numbers

Teachers are Leaving KNUT and KUPPET Unions in Large Numbers

Teachers are Leaving KNUT and KUPPET Unions in Large Numbers. The teachers’ unions Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) are seeing a large-scale drop in membership.

As of yesterday’s closure, at least 28,000 petitions to leave the unions had been submitted (20,000 Knut and 8,000 Kuppet), and the number keeps rising.

Teachers’ anger is due to both the recent compensation cutbacks they experienced in July and the stance the union executives have taken over time.

When teachers received their July payslips, they were shocked to see that a new National Social Security Fund (NSSF) deduction had been put into place and had decreased their income by sh. 360.

Teachers were also made aware of an increase in the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) deduction, which decreased their take-home pay.

However, the predicament teachers are in did not appear to have an impact on the union executives. Many teachers find it difficult to meet even their most basic demands, which includes food.

An activist and blogger named Soyinka Lempaa recently argued that because the unions are dominated by senior Teachers Service Commission (TSC) members, they are unable to defend the interests of teachers.

Soyinka, who successfully sued the TSC to overturn a rule that barred teachers 45 and older from applying for jobs, said he would do the same to challenge the deduction of NSSF from teachers’ pay stubs.

“I fail to understand why a teacher should have to pay twice for the same thing. He questioned why the government was reimbursing teachers through the NSSF when they already contributed to their pensions through provident funds.

Soyinka questioned why the Kenya Women Teachers Association (Kewota), which she had not joined, would deduct 200 shillings from a female teacher’s contribution.

The same teacher will resign from the union before being forcibly brought back by TSC a short while later. He inquired, “What is the Commission’s interest?

In August, 1.5% of teachers’ gross pay will be deducted and added to the housing fund.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has also declared that it will withhold 1.5% of the hiring tax for July as a result of the Court lifting the stay on the 2023 Finance Act.

The double housing fee will therefore be deducted from teachers’ paychecks in August. 1.5% for deductions in July and 1.5% in August.

Teachers are enraged with Knut and Kuppet, the teachers unions, since they believe they are making their difficulties worse rather than getting to the bottom of things.

Problems began to surface with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) 2021–2025, which provided teachers with only longer maternity and paternity leave days rather than any financial incentives.

Two weeks ago, Knut gave notice of a 14-day strike that will begin on Monday of this week. But no teachers responded, so they continued as usual.

To achieve a wage raise for teachers, Knut had urged hasty negotiations to modify the CBA 2021–2025 with the TSC.

The Knut and Kuppet authorities are viewed as traitors and self-serving by the majority of educators.

When challenged by enraged secondary school teachers in Homa Bay County last month over his support of the Finance Bill 2023 in the National Assembly, Omboko Milemba, the chairman of the national Kuppet, was saved.

Milemba, who represents the Emuhaya Constituency in parliament, had gone to Tom Mboya University in Homa Bay town for a secondary school teachers’ athletic event with other Kuppet officials and the union’s secretary general, Akelo Misori.

When the KUPPET boss addressed the instructors and introduced himself, he said that he had voted in favor of the Finance Bill.

Teachers are Leaving KNUT and KUPPET Unions in Large Numbers

When they heard the statement, a couple of the teachers started to jeer. Milemba ignored the commotion and continued to talk about how crucial the Finance Bill 2023 is to the development of the country.

The teachers began to accuse him of betraying them by supporting the contentious law, but his arguments were ignored.

Before Misori stood up to alert the professors about their improper behavior, more than 15 minutes had gone since the argument started.

As he left the podium, some teachers threw various things at him, including stones.

Two pistols were pulled out by one of Milemba’s bodyguards, and he pointed them at the instructors in an effort to dissuade them from defending his boss by hurling stones.

However, a specialist asserts that from 2021 to 2025, teachers will continue to pay union dues and agency fees because of the benefits they are receiving.