Education
Striking Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers in Homa Bay County have vowed that they will not back down on their demands. The teachers said they were dismayed by threats of disciplinary action issued by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The teachers who held demonstrations in Homa Bay town on Friday said they will continue with their strike until their demands were met fully. Led by their Chairman Lazarus Buore and Secretary Harrizone Otieno, the teachers said they will not go back to class unless TSC gives them permanent and pensionable terms.
Speaking during the demonstration, Buore said the TSC had disobeyed a court order which nullified their employment on contract terms. “The court barred TSC from employing teachers on contract but the commission disobeyed. We want the TSC to abide by the court order,” Buore said.
Otieno said they will not call off the strike until the government employs them on permanent and pensionable terms. “We will never go back to school until the government gives us new employment letters. The letters must be for permanent and pensionable terms,” Otieno said.
Velinda Rakara, a JSS teacher said they could not cope with the high cost of living with a paltry Sh17,000 they were paid per month. She said the government was exploiting them for the services they render. “We feel aggrieved by the government because our pay is not commensurate with the services we render,” Rakara said.
She said nobody should threaten them regarding their strike. They also called on legislators to intervene and support them so that they can be employed on a permanent basis.