Teachers Pressure Group Loses Petition Against TSC Over ‘Unfair’ Transfer.
A petition on teacher transfers filed by five teachers through a lobby group was dismissed by an Uasin Ngishu court.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Uasin Gishu dismissed the petition filed by Nelson Kirui, Malika Mwanasudi, Felix Osotsi, Anne Njeri, and Menya Martha in January 2022.
The teachers requested that their employer, the Teachers Service Commission, allow them to continue serving at their previous stations.
Justice J. N. Abuodha has stated that he will not grant the interim orders sought by the teachers, who are also members of the Kenya National Teachers Pressure Group.
“It would therefore not be safe to grant interim orders sought even assuming the claimant put forward a prima facie (first impression) case with a probability of success,” he said.
This is because the teachers admitted that KNTP is not yet a recognizable juridical person, according to Abuodha.
This means that the lobbying group is ineligible for the court’s discretionary order.
“It would even be more dangerous to impose an order of undertaking as to damages if it turns out the injunction was wrongfully granted because the complainant before the court is a soap bubble, a phantom so to speak,” he added.
The justice was also concerned about the recognition of the lobbying group representing the five teachers.
This comes amid concerns that the pressure group is intended to oppose TSC and the other unions.
Previously, members of the KNTP accused TSC of intimidating them in an attempt to silence them.
He noted that the court is unsure whether the claimant is a trade union, a society, a welfare group, a political party, or any of the creatures allowed under the regulatory framework governing collective organizations,.
Nelson Kirui, the KNTP deputy secretary, and the other teachers questioned TSC’s decision to transfer them.
“The transfers have been meted out on the affected members because they have been vocal about Teachers Professional Development and also because they are members of KNTP,” the report reads.
KNTP accused TSC of intimidating them in an attempt to silence them.
TSC lawyer Calvin Anyuor argued in the commission’s defence that the commission is mandated to equitably distribute teachers to work in any part of the country.
According to their respective letters of appointment, teachers have agreed to provide their services in any part of the country, according to Anyuor.
The commission emphasized that the transfers were made after taking into account factors such as understaffing in some schools.
Malika was relocated from Homa Bay to Kilifi County.
She was granted compassionate leave but failed to return to work despite the fact that her leave had expired.
Felix Osotsi was transferred from Vihiga to Kwale County, but his whereabouts following the exit and entry report were unknown.
Njeri Wanyoike was transferred from Nairobi to Kitui County, where she eventually settled.
ALSO READ:
Nelson Kirui was transferred from Uasin Gishu to Lamu County, where his whereabouts are unknown, despite the fact that he had completed his paternity leave.
Menya Martha was transferred from Nairobi to the county of Trans Nzoia.
TSC transfers TPG’s Spokesperson Martha Omollo after calling for abolition of teachers’ medical scheme Aon Minet
Teachers Pressure Group Loses Petition Against TSC Over ‘Unfair’ Transfer.
