A section of Masaba Knut branch officials have dismissed a request by President Uhuru Kenyatta that Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Knut withdraw court cases over pay hike dispute.
In an exclusive interview with this writer on Wednesday, the branch secretary and deputy said the President’s directive that TSC pays teachers September salaries came 'rather late' and it was unlikely to change the perceptions of teachers on government.
They said their branch members were keen to make ‘titanic’ changes in 2017 polls and accused the Judiciary of being used by the government to intimidate teachers.
“I think the President is a slow timer. He has been watching his government intimidate us for all this time and it’s quite shocking that he could call for dialogue after all that time. I speak on behalf of members and I promise titanic changes in 2017,” said Secretary General Meshack Ombongi.
Deputy Secretary James Oteki concurred with his boss and dismissed the President’s directive as a public relations exercise and warned that teachers were tired of persistent intimidation by government.
“He (President Kenyatta) had powers to authorise TSC to comply with the Industrial Court order. It’s therefore mere public relations for him to call for dialogue. The ground is steadily shifting and he will find it tough in 2017 polls. He failed to use his political will to help teachers,” he said.
TSC had withheld September salaries for teachers after teachers went for a five weeks long strike that what was suspended by Employment and Labour Relations Court.