Kenya: KNUT Calls Off Teachers Strike After Agreeing On Commuter Allowance

Teachers reach an agreement and call off strike following a meeting with Deputy President William Ruto.

The month-long teachers strike has officially come to an end after the Kenya National Union of Teachers' Secretary General Madzu Nzili announced a deal reached with government following a meeting with Deputy President William Ruto.

In the deal that has been reached between KNUT and government, the teachers will earn commuter allowance in two phases over a period of 12 month.

Following the deal, the government through the Teachers Service Commission has withdrawn the contempt of court charges it had filed against KNUT, after the union failed to comply with a July 1 court order from the Industrial Court that outlawed the strike and directed the teachers to engage the government in negotiations.

The strike bring to an end a protracted standoff between government and teachers in which government withheld the salaries of teachers and fined others for failing to return to class.

The government had earlier today through Cabinet Secretary for Education Jacob Kaimenyi announced the closure of all public Primary schools indefinitely until the strike ends.