COLA strike: An opportunity for teacher union leaders to redeem their image

My grandfather has always maintained that an elder who learns to speak from both ends of his mouth, must be watched by children from both ends of their eyes. For about a week now, the media space has been inundated with teachers’ strikes and their impact on teaching and learning.

This strike, as many people believe, has been long overdue. The strike should have come off a long time. The reason for the delay by union leaders to declare this strike has left many members to doubt the credibility of union leaders. It has increasingly been clear that the integrity and competency of the leadership of the various teacher unions has long been questioned by many. While majority believe that teacher union leaders have no modicum of credibility left in them, a few still have little hope in them.

Most members of these teacher associations have lost hope in our leadership. The grounds for this pessimism among members is that union leaders have consistently demonstrated their inability to appropriately negotiate better conditions of services for their members. Whilst some of the members believe that leadership invariably short-changes the welfare of their members for their personal parochial interest, others are of the view that union leaders are simply incompetent because most of them were sponsored by the ruling government to win their positions.

What seems to be a confirmation of the above allegations was when these union leaders gladly negotiated for 4% and 7% salary increments respectively for 2021 and 2022. It was unfathomable why leadership should approve a 7% salary increment for a year we did not know how it was going to be. This singular act irritated a lot of members and they rained insults on leadership.

Unfortunately, on the part of leadership, the year since its beginning has not been favorable. It has been hard trying to do what we could do easily sometimes past. The never-ending increase in prices of items left teachers and other workers impoverished. As of now, it is well-nigh for a teacher to afford a three-square meal a day. The suffering of the teacher is so glaring and embarrassing that union leaders could no longer save the government against their members. All-out efforts were therefore made by union leaders to ensure that the government come out with a balanced approach to ameliorate the situation. Unfortunately, the government thought that their filibustering tactics could help them escape the demand of the teacher. This has therefore brought us to where we are now.

Many teachers across the country support the union leaders holistically for this singular act. We are vehemently believing that the demand for COLA is very right, legitimate and worth pressing for with our last breath. I must state in the most emphatic terms that union leaders would be able to win back the hearts of their members should they succeed in carrying home the 20% COLA. All eyes and hopes are on the leadership now they continue to press home our demand. The worst may however happen should leadership fail this battle.

In fact, there would be no room for any union leader to explain to any member for any failure in this struggle. Members and the whole country have seen the wasteful ventures the president and his appointees engage in with the county’s monies to the detriment of very important and necessary situations that need swift and urgent attention.

We are all living testimonies to the money-sharing spree that characterized this government and its appointees including party executives. Why should teachers always be used for sacrifice for others to merry over? Enough of that! Teachers are fed up with the consistent sacrifice, consistent disrespect and consistent belittlement by this government.

I wish to conclude by reminding our union leaders, of the insults and bashing you received after you agreed and approved the 4% and 7% salary increments respectively. As you meet the education minister tomorrow, let it be conspicuous that you are equally determined not to rest until you have gained your target.

The government won the salary negotiation for 2021 and 2022. You must draw their attention to that and make sure you win this COLA negotiation. If you make a mistake and allow the government to have its way again on this, members of the various unions may have no option than to call for our contributions and also stop dues payments until further notice. This may cushion members to survive through these unprecedented hard times. “When spider webs unite, they tie up a lion.”