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A row between the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over union membership raises a major question that should concern every employer: who should decide which trade union an employee belongs to?
Knut has accused TSC of facilitating the movement of thousands of its members to rival unions, particularly Kuppet, without their consent. TSC, for its part, says it has been implementing court orders.
Whatever the legal dispute behind the deductions and representation of teachers, one principle should remain beyond dispute: union membership is a matter for teachers themselves.
An employer should not become an agent for recruiting members for one union or weakening another. Nor should administrative changes in the deployment of teachers automatically be interpreted as permission to change their union membership.
Teachers, like other workers, have a right to freedom of association. They should be free to join, leave or remain in a union of their choice, subject only to the law and valid court orders.
TSC therefore needs to provide complete transparency over any changes to teachers' union records or deductions. Where a teacher's union status has changed, there should be a clear record showing who authorised the change and on what legal basis.
The commission must also distinguish carefully between union membership and agency fees. A court-directed agency-fee deduction does not, by itself, make a teacher a member of a union.
The Knut-Kuppet dispute should be resolved through the courts and lawful collective bargaining and not through administrative schemes.
TSC, as the employer of teachers, should therefore be impartial and not a player in the battle for union membership.
Quote of the Day: "Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to." —French Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot's play 'Le Fils naturel (The Natural Son)' premiered in Paris on September 26, 1771
