TSC Invites Teachers For Salary Negotiations Shortly After Wilson Sossion's Resignation
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has invited teachers’ unions for salary negotiations a few days after the exit of the secretary-general for Kenya National Union of Teachers ( KNUT), Wilson Sossion.
Deborah Chelangat 
According to the invitation letter signed by the commission CEO Nancy Macharia, TSC will table its salary review offer, forming the basis for the negotiations.
This comes after several months of the union's demanding to meet with the teachers’ employer without success. The said invitation letters were dispatched on June 25, 2021, after Sossion announced his resignation as KNUT Secretary-General.
The commission is expected to commence talks with the KNUT and the Kenya Union for Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) over the proposed 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
TSC has called the talks despite a recent directive freezing salary increases in the public sector. According to the short invitation letter signed by the commission CEO Nancy Macharia, TSC will table its salary review offer, forming the basis for the negotiations. However, the unions already presented their pay demands to the commission. Sossion had resigned just hours before the union elected new national officials. It should be remembered that Sossion had a fractious relationship with the TSC that resulted in him being deregistered as a teacher. The bad blood between KNUT and TSC saw the erstwhile giant union lose its membership from 187,000 to just about 15,000 currently.
During his last speech as KNUT Secretary-General, Sossion called on the commission to begin negotiations for a fresh CBA. The former KNUT boss said he will be representing workers; teachers included in the parliament. He also stated he shall remain loyal to the union and always advise and support the union's leadership. "I trust that the government of Kenya as I exist it will find it necessary to allow the union's dues to flow to the unit again so that its members can have a better life," Sossion said. At the same time, he urged those who will be elected to serve the union not to allow any authority to convert them into commerce tools. It is yet to be seen whether they will rejoin the union to benefit from future CBAs.
