JSS Teachers Suspend Strike and Give TSC One Month to Address Demands.
Thousands of Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers, who began their strike on April 17, 2024, have decided to suspend their industrial action until July 5, 2024. This pause is intended to allow the National Assembly to pass the upcoming budget. The 46,000 intern teachers are pressing their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), to confirm their employment on Permanent and Pensionable (PnP) terms. These graduate teachers, initially hired as interns in 2019, seek immediate action from TSC following the budget’s approval.
Speaking through their national spokesman, Mr. Omari Omari, the intern JSS teachers urged TSC to promptly issue a circular confirming their permanent status once Parliament passes the budget. Mr. Omari stated, “After a meeting of JSS County leaders, we resolved to suspend our demonstrations to pave the way for Parliament to pass the 2024/2025 budget on Thursday. By that date, we should have received communication regarding the confirmation of the 46,000 teachers.”
In a formal statement, JSS teachers requested their colleagues to resume classes on June 10, 2024. Mr. Omari clarified, “Please note that this means the strike that began on April 17th, 2024, has not been called off but suspended until July 5, 2024. By that date, we should have received communication on the status of the confirmation of the 46,000 teachers.”
The JSS teachers have held numerous meetings with the National Assembly’s select committee on labor and its education counterpart to present their demands, with the primary demand being the confirmation of all 46,000 interns. According to Mr. Omari, these committees have fully endorsed their demands, presented them to the budget committee, and are now awaiting parliamentary approval. The committees have also requested the striking teachers to suspend their demonstrations to facilitate the budget passage.
Furthermore, the committees asked the intern teachers to grant TSC time to receive the necessary funds and prepare for their immediate recruitment. “In respect of the seriousness with which they have so far handled our issues, and for the great love and care we have for the children of the poor Kenyan parents, we have decided to take their word and suspend our demonstrations,” Mr. Omari added.
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Despite suspending their strike, Mr. Omari reminded parliamentarians that a court ruling declaring internships illegal remains in effect. He emphasized, “After consulting our legal team, we wish to inform them that we shall go to the classes to teach from Monday not as interns, but as volunteers. We are doing this volunteerism because we seem to be the only people in the education sector who care for the children of Mama Mboga.”
For the next four weeks, the teachers will volunteer to teach, but they have warned that if by July 5, 2024, TSC has not communicated their confirmation, they will resume their demonstrations. “Teaching is a noble profession, and we make sacrifices for the future of our nation, but TSC and the government cannot take advantage of our caring nature to enslave or exploit us,” Mr. Omari stated. He stressed that qualified and registered teachers should not endure prolonged internships.
Expressing frustration, Mr. Omari said, “We are still in pain and shocked that the government would actually use qualified teachers for years as slaves in this nation. But a strike is frustrating to our dear poor students. A strike is damaging and frustrating to us teachers. A strike is not something to be cherished.”
Last month, the National Assembly Committee on Education urged TSC to convert 26,000 interns to permanent employees starting in July 2024. This move is part of ongoing efforts to improve the working conditions of teachers and ensure stability in the education sector.
JSS Teachers Suspend Strike and Give TSC One Month to Address Demands.
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