Off the wire
• Urgent: UN General Assembly concludes annual high-level debate  • 1st LD: At least 10 killed in twin suicide attacks in Iraq's Baghdad  • Oman calls for support for UN envoys in Syria, Yemen  • China qualifies for Rio Olympics with Asian Championship title (updated)  • Winners at all editions of FIBA Asia Championship  • Sevilla beat Barcelona 2-1 in Spanish league  • Urgent: At least 10 killed in twin suicide bombings in Iraq's Baghdad  • Half-done wedding center collapses in Vietnam, killing 1, injuring 4  • China Open tennis results  • China's road to win 2015 FIBA Asia Championship  
You are here: 　 Home

Kenyan court directs striking teachers to resume work

Xinhua, October 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Kenyan court on Thursday directed more than 280,000 school teachers to comply with its orders issued last week, requiring them to suspend their weeks-long strike.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Nelson Abuodha directed Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to advise teachers to obey the court, saying they will need its protection in future.

"The strike is protected but remains suspended. There is no strike until after 90 days from now. Any person talking about a strike is defying the orders of this court," Justice Abuodha ruled.

"I plead with the union officials to advice their members to respect the orders of this court as they will need its protection tomorrow as they always have," he added after the two unions had made an oral application to the court amid a strike that entered its second month.

"I decline to stop or make any comment on my orders which directed the union members to resume teaching," he said.

On Sept. 25, Justice Nelson Abuodha ordered striking teachers to suspend their strike which is in its four-week and go back to class immediately as both the government and unions resolve the pay dispute within three months.

He also directed the tutors' employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) not to victimize teachers who participated in the strike and ordered that they be paid their September salaries and allowances.

Justice Abuodha said the parties are at liberty to declare a trade dispute should they fail to find a solution within the given period.

Abuodha said the ruling was in the interests of about 12 million children in public schools. He further ordered TSC to appoint an arbiter within 30 days to ensure that the 50-60 percent pay rise is affected.

The judge directed labour cabinet secretary to form a conciliatory committee within 30 days to work out modalities of paying the teachers within 90 days. If the talks fail within the stipulated period, teachers can lodge a trade dispute. Endit