Caption: Knut deputy secretary general Hezborne Otieno addresses the media at Tala Township Primary School. Photo: James M/hivisasa.com
Teachers across the country have been urged to ignore a circular by their employer, the Teachers Service Commission requiring them to sign performance contracts.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) deputy secretary general Hezborne Otieno said TSC did not consult with the teachers' union in designing the document, which according to him also requires them to work outside the stipulated working days and hours.
Otieno said the union was of the opinion that teachers should ignore the circular in totality until consensus is arrived on between the TSC and Knut.
"Teachers must reject any attempts by TSC to force them to sign the circular since the content bears far-reaching implications on their rights and freedoms," said the Knut official.
Otieno said the fact that some teachers had been devoting their own time to be in school at weekends did not mean it was a mandatory obligation on their part to do so.
"Devotion of teachers must not be used to coerce them to work at weekends because they do so at their own volition. Even when you go to TSC offices you'll not be served at weekends because that is not part of working time," he said.
Otieno spoke at Tala township primary school in Matungulu sub-county during an annual general meeting of the Kangundo branch Knut elections.
He said the union would not allow TSC to use the performance contracts as a yard stick to either promote or demote teachers.