Union secretary-general Tom Odege said the Kenya National Union of Teachers and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers were creating an impression that civil servants were happy with their lot and had no reason to complain about poor salaries and working conditions.

Mr Odege said teachers should compare themselves with members of their profession in other countries or those in private schools, instead of trying to hoodwink the Government to treat them like civil servants.

“We find it ridiculous that some unions are so incompetent that they do not have strategies to improve their members’ welfare and would rather use civil servants’ salary scales as their bargaining tool,” Mr Odege said.

Mr Odege said the teachers’ unions should concentrate on improving their members’ lot instead of “envying” civil servants’ welfare.

Knut and Kuppet are split in the middle over a Sh17 billion Government offer to harmonise teachers’ salaries with those of civil servants.

Kuppet officials are amenable to the deal, saying it would be the answer to their longstanding call for harmonisation of teachers’ salaries with those of civil servants.

“Our members are satisfied that this deal is what we have been fighting for. It is actually a photocopy of our proposal,” Kuppet secretary-general, Mr Njeru Kanyamba said.

Knut, representing over 260,000 mainly primary school teachers, has rejected the proposal and vowed to go ahead with its strike on January 19.

Chairperson George Wesonga said there was no going back and the strike would go ahead unless their demands were met.

And two branches of Knut have accused Kuppet of betrayal for accepting the proposal. Busia branch executive secretary Godfrey Odongo accused the Government of using Kuppet to arm-twist Knut in an attempt to derail the looming strike.

“The teachers of Kenya now know who their real enemy is. Our solidarity has never been put to the test until now,” Mr Odongo said.

Knut Kericho branch executive secretary Stanley Mutai said that Kuppet did not participate in the salary negotiations and it was wrong and immoral for them to support the Government proposal just because secondary school teachers stood to benefit.

Nominated MP Shakila Abdalla has, however, called on the Government to continue negotiations with Knut to avert the strike.

The ODM Kenya legislator said Kenyans did not want to a repeat of the chaos that rocked the education sector during the wave of school strikes last year.

She said teachers, who have been fighting for salary increases for a long time because of the high cost of living, had the poorest pay package in the civil service.

Meanwhile, Knut has vowed that no learning will take place in Nyanza during the strike.

The worst ever

The union’s provincial secretary John Wesonga said their officials would be going round the schools to ensure teachers heeded the strike call.

Mr Wesonga said the looming strike would be the worst ever witnessed in the country. “We shall ensure that learning does not take place in the region and put the Government in an awkward position,” he said.

Reported by Kenneth Ogosia, Mazera Ndurya, John Shilitsa, Ouma Wanzala, Sollo Kiragu, Elisha Otieno and Henry Nyarora