Teachers’ vow to go on with strike

Written By:Carol Gakii,    Posted: Sat, Sep 01, 2012

The strike will paralyse learning in all public schools. Sosion told teachers that only the Secretary General can call off the strike (file) Teachers have vowed that their strike scheduled for Monday is on regardless of Fridays' ruling by the industrial court declaring it illegal. Kenya National Union of Teachers is asking its members not to be cowed by the court order saying that they must continue to fight for their rights. KNUT Chairman Wilson Sosion said that teachers have been oppressed for years and its time for the government to honor an agreement signed in 1997 to increase their salaries and review their arrears. In an interview on Saturday with  KBC, Sossion said that the union will continue putting pressure on the government to award the teachers their dues. The Teacher Service Commission on Friday obtained orders stopping the teacher's nationwide strike. Judge Pyrum Ongaya of the Industrial Court argued that rights of students and pupils outweighed the teachers' demands for a pay rise. This means TSC can legally withhold pay, take disciplinary measures, and even fire anyone who goes on strike.