
Teachers Accuse TSC of Coercing Them to Join Union as KUSNET Wants Agency Fees Refunded
A group of teachers in special schools has lodged a complaint with the National Assembly over deductions made by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for union agency fees.
The teachers claim that they were coerced into joining the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) without their approval or consultation, and that they are being charged union dues without their consent.
The teachers are calling on the Education Committee to demand a refund for all agency fees deducted from teachers who did not agree to become members of the union.
They are also requesting the committee to investigate whether TSC has the right to make decisions on behalf of employees about which union they should join.
The teachers state that their employer should allow them to choose the union they wish to join, as compelling them to become members of Kusnet is a violation of their constitutional rights and labour laws.
Despite going to court to halt the deduction of union dues from their salaries, the teachers say that TSC has continued to make deductions, including fees for the social welfare association, without their approval.
Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) National Secretary, James Torome
According to the teachers, Kusnet does not have grassroots representation, known regional offices, or regular annual meetings, and its elections are conducted in secret.
The teachers argue that they have not been given a choice about which union to join and that TSC has imposed Kusnet on them without their consent.
“We filed a case over the after having been forced to subscribe to by paying monthly union dues, which were later stopped. We later realised that we are being deducted agency fees in favour of the same union,” said the teachers in petition.
The petition has been sent to the National Assembly Education Committee Chair, the TSC CEO, the secretaries-general of Kusnet, Knut, and Kuppet, as well as the clerks of the Senate and National Assembly.
The teachers are hoping that their plea will be heard and that they will be able to choose the union that best represents their interests without any undue influence from their employer.
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Teachers Accuse TSC of Coercing Them to Join Union as KUSNET Wants Agency Fees Refunded