The Employment and Labour Relations Court has set aside orders that compelled the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to deduct agency fees from junior secondary school (JSS) teachers and remit them to the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), handing the rival Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) a significant win in the long-running membership tussle.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, October 29, Justice Monica Mbaru allowed an application by KNUT and vacated interim orders that had required TSC to deduct and send to KUPPET the September agency fees of the affected teachers.

A closed file cannot be reopened

The judge found that the original petition through which KUPPET had pursued the deductions had been withdrawn and the file closed. She said there was no good reason to reopen the case in order to introduce a fresh dispute over agency fees for JSS teachers.

"Interim orders issued on 17 October 2026 are hereby vacated," the court said, according to documents cited by Kenyans.co.ke.

KUPPET had argued that JSS teachers fall under its post-primary mandate and that teachers who are not its members but enjoy the benefits of its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) should pay an agency fee equal to 1.8 per cent of their basic salary, as provided for under a ministerial order.

Teachers free to choose their union

TSC told the court it had deployed 9,830 primary school teachers to junior secondary schools after reviewing their qualifications and staffing needs, noting that the teachers previously fell within KNUT's membership base.

Justice Mbaru affirmed that teachers moved from primary schools to JSS keep their constitutional right under Article 41 to join and belong to a trade union of their choice.

She, however, clarified that agency fees can still apply to teachers who are not members of any union but benefit from a CBA under the applicable ministerial order, and directed that any new dispute on the deductions be pursued through separate proceedings. The ruling therefore does not finally settle which union is entitled to fees from JSS teachers.

Contempt bid rejected

KUPPET had also asked the court to summon TSC Chief Executive Officer Evaleen Mitei to explain the commission's alleged failure to implement the deductions, and to jail her for at least seven days for contempt of court.

The judge declined, finding that the orders sought against the commission and its CEO were not justified.

The ruling is the latest twist in the rivalry between the two unions over who should represent teachers at the junior school level, a group that has grown rapidly under the Competency-Based Education system.

Photos: Kenyans.co.ke/PCS. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.