Kenyan teachers' strike continues

School holidays are over in Kenya but classrooms remain empty. A consequence of a dispute between the countries' largest teachers' unions and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). The TSC is responsible for hiring and firing teachers and advises the government on matters relating to the teaching profession.

For the teachers, it had looked as if their long wait was over. On August 24, Kenya's highest labor court ruled in their favor and awarded a pay rise of more than 50 percent. This marked a historic victory as teachers' unions in Kenya have been fighting for higher pay for more than 40 years.

In the past, the government repeatedly promised increases but rarely kept its word. The court ruling is the first legal victory by the teachers' unions in the long-running dispute. But instead of paying up, the TSC turned to the country's Supreme Court. The teachers promptly went on strike, affecting some 12 million pupils.

The teachers then also took their complaint to the Supreme Court which rejected the TSC case but gave the authority until September 9 to lodge an appeal.

At the end of last week the TSC declared the strike illegal and threatened to sack all teachers who did not turn up to work on Monday. There are no reports that this threat has been carried out.

The TSC says it does not have the money to pay the increases awarded by the court. The finance ministry washes its hands of the matter, saying the additional costs had not been budgeted for and therefore could not be paid.

Kenya's National Union of Teachers (KNUT) does not accept these arguments. "We think it is absurd that the finance ministry says there is not enough money," KNUT General Secretary Wilson Sossion said. He points out that income tax accounts for an annual income of some 2.5 billion US dollars (2.2 billion euros).

Support for strikers

Mosses Nuturuma from the Kenyan Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) accuses the TSC of hypocrisy.

"The TSC cannot break the law and at the same time claim legal protection," Nuturuma said in an interview with DW. He called on parents to support the teachers.

In fact, there is considerable public support for the strikers. "Courts are not a solution. The argument could have been resolved by the government and TSC sitting down together," said Catholic Archbishop Martin Kivuva. He added that he believed the teachers were "simply demanding what is legally due to them." TSC has a responsibility to pay."

The starting salary for a teacher in Kenya is currently around 160 US dollars a month.