In the last one year, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), headed by Wilson Sossion as secretary general, has lost about 150,000 members, a signal that the giant is struggling at a time tutors require a more robust voice to help them face the more complex labour scene. KNUT is now a pale shadow of its former self with a paltry 32,000 members.
Its rival Kuppet has, however, recruited a tiny fraction of the defectors, growing its membership to 110,000 from slightly more than 90,000 last year, gaining just 20,000 from a rich pool of about 150,000 that became unionless.
It shows that many of them are giving up on union representation or are waiting to see the outcome of the planned elections between January and March. However, it may be too late because non-members do not vote.
While union membership is voluntary, teachers ought to take stock of the gains of their organising and gauge the pain of a limping union.
John F Kennedy said that “labour unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups” but have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through CBA, he said, they “have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.” And, justice is earned; it requires work.
Akelo Misori, the Kuppet secretary general, says in his book, Teachers, Unions and Labour Relations in Kenya, that during colonialism and immediately after Kenya’s Independence, teachers were ”often poorly trained, overworked, underpaid, and unmotivated.”
In the book about the history of Kuppet, Misori says Kenya is still struggling with the “training, remuneration, and professional development of teachers”.
On remuneration and teacher development, A Plain inquiry reveals that one of the reasons KNUT is on its knees is challenging Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) in court, leaving KNUT members under Scheme of Service believed to have stagnated teacher development.
It is some of these challenges that make unionising irresistible in strengthening negotiations with the employer and others for professional development and welfare.
Some challenges are beyond the influence of the employer though, Misori says. Banditry, terrorism, cultural discrimination, and student unrest are increasingly making schools unsafe, he says in the 2019 book. The Kuppet chief proposes a change of tack from “combative politicking” of banging tables, confrontation and strikes to negotiations ahead of picketing and strikes.
Achieving this requires a rare level-headedness, including changing leadership and managing succession through grooming, not banging tables to forcibly eject leaders from office.
As the teachers go to the polls, one of the things requiring priority is a constitution review to introduce term limits for leaders. A progressive trade union should have term limits.
Many are good leaders whose overstay ruined their legacies, be they country or organisation presidents.
Every teacher ought to think twice about staying out of unions. At more than 300,000 TSC teachers, it is disappointing that between the two top unions (Kuppet and KNUT) the membership is at less than 150,000. This leaves more than 200,000 teachers in the cold, dangerously exposed to labour pains.
While Kuppet has been receiving former KNUT members, it should step up recruitment to ensure that teachers will be well represented while demanding honour, rights, and dignity from the employer.
As limping as KNUT is, the 2021 elections present a do-or-die case for them and new leaders ought to emerge with the resolve of redeeming the giant.
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