Calls have emerged for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to stop deducting union agency fees from teachers affiliated with KNUT.
Despite the non-monetary type of CBA with TSC, teachers affiliated with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) were deducted union agency fees. The deductions did not spare over 150,000 teachers who quit the former giant union shrinking its membership from 187,000 to merely 15,000.
This was confirmed by KNUT deputy secretary-general Hesbon Otieno who said that Primary school teachers who are not members of the union have been deducted the fee which he termed as a monthly affair.
The deductions did not go well with teachers who now protest that they should not be forced to pay union fees stating that the signed deal lacked monetary gains.
KNUT deducts two per cent of its member’s salaries while the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers, Kuppet takes at least 1.8 per cent. But KUPPET was earlier this week accused of making unclear deductions.
A section of secondary school teachers affiliated with the Kenya union Of Post Primary Education Teachers, KUPPET protested the illegal deductions from their salaries by the union.
The teachers pointed an accusing finger at KUPPET, the Kilifi branch for starting a burial and benevolent fund without consulting members. The teachers claimed that the membership in the scheme is voluntary as they sought clarity from the union on the exact amount that should be deducted.
They said they had noted disparities in the deductions. This comes barely days after the Ministry of Labour barred the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) from collecting member fees from teachers.
This is despite the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) being authorized to do so. A legal notice filed by Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelungui reveals that KUPPET will continue collecting a monthly fee of Sh300 from its members every month.
KNUT rubbished the missed privilege claiming that it would be resolved soon. The former giant union says that some pending issues are being addressed with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Labour Ministry.
KUPPET had been advantaged by the bad relationship between KNUT and the state that saw a number of teachers defecting from KNUT.
KNUT has about 15,000 members a major decrease from 184, 471 as KUPPET and KUSNET, a recently formed union commands a membership of 109, 000 and 8,000 respectively.
KUSNET which caters for teachers teaching in special schools has also not been authorised to collect fees from its employees. Teachers without union will however be deducted an agency fee.
Under the Labour Relations Act, 14 of 2007, a trade union that has signed a recognition agreement with the commission, shall get its dues deducted from the payrolls of its members who have joined voluntary, signed, and then submitted a prescribed membership from an authorized to commission to deduct union due at the source.
The commission is obliged to deduct and pay the trade union an agency fee from the salary of each unionizable team member who is not a member of the union but has profited from CBA that is negotiated and concluded between the union and TSC as per part VI of the Labour Relation Act of 14 of 2007
KUPPET stated that there are 3,000 non-member teaching personnel nationwide who serve as tutors in secondary schools and higher learning institutions. They are subjected to pay agency fees to the union.
A third party has a duty of stopping deductions of employees who has his/her liability to the firm. A third party does not stop a deduction. TSC upon obtaining authenticated instruction from teachers shall cease deduction without reference to the third party. When a stop order is not affected and the overpayment is made to the third party, the same shall be recovered from the third-party subsequence remittance and refunded to the member.
