The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been ordered to deduct and remit September 2026 agency fees from Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers.
The interim order was issued by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi in a case involving the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).
Justice Monica Mbaru directed TSC to make the deductions from JSS teachers and remit the money to KUPPET in line with a consent order previously entered between the two unions.
“The 1st Interested party (TSC) is hereby directed to deduct and remit agency fees for September 2026 and due to the Respondent (KUPPET) against all JSS Teachers pursuant to the consent order herein between the Petitioner (KNUT) and the Respondent,” the court order states.
The commission has also been directed to respond to the case, with the court giving TSC 14 days from September 16 to file its response.
The matter will be heard on October 5, when TSC is also expected to inform the court whether it has complied with the order.
The case centres on which union should receive agency fees from JSS teachers who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) but are not members of the union receiving the payments.
Agency fees are different from regular union dues. They are paid by workers who are not members of a union but benefit from terms and salary improvements negotiated through a CBA.
Under Section 49 of the Labour Relations Act, workers who benefit from a collective agreement can be required to pay an agency fee even if they have not joined the union that negotiated the agreement.
The issue has caused tension between KNUT and KUPPET, particularly after TSC started deducting agency fees from JSS teachers.
KUPPET has previously argued that teachers who are not its members but benefit from its CBA should pay the fees.
The latest court proceedings also follow complaints from KNUT’s Nyamira branch, which alleged that some of its members had been moved to KUPPET or subjected to agency-fee deductions without their consent.
The branch called on TSC to reverse the changes and provide documents showing how the decisions were made.
The disagreement between the two unions also extends to the management of JSS.
KUPPET has been pushing for JSS to operate as autonomous schools with their own management, while KNUT wants junior secondary sections to remain within comprehensive schools.
