A parliamentary committee has rejected a petition by special needs education teachers seeking to compel the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to stop what they described as unlawful deductions of union dues.
The National Assembly Committee on Public Petitions dismissed the educators’ appeal to halt deductions in favour of the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet), which they claimed they had been forced to join without their consent.
In their petition, the teachers requested that Parliament intervene and direct the TSC to immediately stop the deductions, arguing that they had not authorised them and were unaware of Kusnet’s existence.
They further contended that they should have the freedom to affiliate with a union of their choice, rather than being compelled to join Kusnet. The petition was presented to Parliament by Mr. Edwin Juma, the national chairperson of special needs education teachers.
The petitioners expressed concern that the TSC had continued to deduct union dues—either as agency fees or union contributions—on behalf of Kusnet, despite repeated protests. They maintained that they had no knowledge of the union and were not given the opportunity to opt out.
They also cited a recognition agreement between the TSC and three recognised unions, which categorises teachers as follows: primary school teachers with Knut, secondary and college tutors with Kuppet, and special needs education teachers with Kusnet.
The teachers further complained that legal efforts to stop the deductions had been unsuccessful, and that the TSC continued to remit dues to Kusnet. They criticised the union for lacking regional presence, failing to hold Annual General Meetings (AGMs), and not conducting elections.
Ordinarily, teachers are deducted two per cent of their basic salary, which is then remitted to the union they are affiliated with.
However, the committee concluded that teachers currently under Kusnet had voluntarily authorised the deductions through the T-Pay platform, dismissing the claims of coercion.
According to the committee, all teachers who are members of Kusnet joined voluntarily by authorising deductions via the T-Pay system.
It was also noted that the TSC’s T-Pay platform allows teachers to manage their own union and third-party deductions by logging in and updating their preferences.
As a result, the committee rejected the petitioners’ request for a refund of the deducted amounts, stating that the deductions were lawful and procedurally authorised.
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