A group of teachers is criticizing the Instructors Service Commission (TSC), accusing it of allowing backdoor deductions.
TSC has been blamed by teachers on various social media platforms.
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According to the female teachers we spoke with, they did nothing to justify such ksh 200 monthly deductions from their pay stubs.
“I didn’t fill out any paperwork, attend to any Kewota offices, or even write to the Commission asking to be deducted, so why am I getting this on my already overburdened payslip?” Petronilar Mwende, a victim of Kewota deductions, wondered.
According to the instructors, Kewota is being favored by having its deductions recorded as a loan on the T-Pay system without any documents being scanned and uploaded.
According to rumors, the female outfit, Kewota, is in deep financial trouble and requires the Commission to bail it out.
In January 2020, at least 54 female Kiambu teachers sued their employer TSC for what they called “illegal Kewota deductions.”
They accused Kewota of not following the standard membership procedure.
“Even before its official introduction, Kewota raided the payslip after its formation.” Was it expected that teachers would fund all of their activities, including the launch?” One of the teachers was perplexed.
When Kewota made its first deductions in 2019, former Knut’s Secretary-General Wilson Sossion requested that the EACC and the DCI investigate TSC officials for allegedly conspiring with Kewota to recruit instructors without their knowledge.
“It has come to our attention that the TSC has illegally conducted check-off deductions of Sh200 per female teacher from 58,000 teachers who did not allow their deductions at all,” Mr Sossion wrote in a June 20 letter to the agencies.
Sossion accused the commission of using auto-loading programs that deducted money without the teachers’ agreement and in cooperation with Kewota officials.
TSC’s move, according to Kuppet official Moses Nturima, is an economic crime.
“The deductions are illegal and constitute economic crimes on the part of the employer against impacted instructors,” he stated.
However, Kewota’s National Treasurer Jacinta Ndegwa refuted the charges, claiming that the teachers joined the union of their own free will.
“Teachers are joining the women’s lobbying group voluntarily.” “They’re looking at the rewards,” Ms Ndegwa explained.
Teachers faced deductions after the teachers’ unions Knut, Kuppet, and Kusnet reached an agreement with TSC in July last year, leading to the signing of the CBA 2021-2025.
Teachers who were not initially members of Knut, Kuppet, or Kusnet began to pay the Agency fee. However, Kewota was not a party to the agreement that resulted in the signing of the CBA.
