TSC requests teachers on strike: Observe court orders and return to work.
The instructors Service Commission has ordered intern instructors who are on strike to return to their classes.
According to TSC, the National Internship Program is a government initiative designed to give people real-world work experience.
TSC stated in a statement on Tuesday that the intern teachers on strike are defying court directives.
“As teaching and learning in all public schools formally resumed on May 13, 2024, the Commission calls upon the teacher interns engaged under the program to obey the court order and return to school,” the statement stated.
They claim that although the Court found in favor of the petitioner, the decision was later postponed until August 1, 2024.
This comes after the Teacher Internship Program was contested in court by the Forum for Good Governance and Human Rights.
Junior Secondary School intern instructors have promised to keep staging nationwide demonstrations until the Teachers Service Commission hires them on a permanent, pensionable basis.
Currently, the intern instructors work under an annual contract.
Because the intern instructors are qualified and hold teaching licenses, Justice Bryrum Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court concluded on April 17 that TSC had breached their right to fair labor practices.In the decision, Ongaya stated that “the respondents have not exhibited statutory regulatory or policy arrangements that would entitle the first respondent (TSC) to employ interns.”
“Ideally, the first respondent should hire registered teachers on nondiscriminatory terms and to satisfy public school staffing needs as best as possible,” the verdict stated.
Chairperson Owino Okelo of Nairobi County JSS intern teachers led the teachers in a protest on Monday.
They marched to TSC headquarters from the bus terminal in Nairobi.
“There will be constant strikes by JSS teachers in Nairobi and the country at large until we are confirmed into permanent and pensionable terms,” he stated.
According to Okelo, the teachers would not be working as interns in schools because the TSC internship program has been declared illegal by the courts.
“We obey the court order by staying away from schools and all teachers shall be involved in peaceful demos as call and agitation for action from TSC in a bid to comply with the court ruling,” he stated.
The confirmation of permanent and pensionable periods is what the instructors desire.
In addition, they seek payment for the time they spent working as interns without receiving paid.
“TSC is at liberty to call the teachers for negotiations on how the interns can be confirmed into permanent and pensionable terms in compliance with the court ruling,” Okelo stated.
TSC requests teachers on strike: Observe court orders and return to work.
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