Uproar After Govt Declares 500,000 Workers Redundant Over JSS

Thousands of support staff working for the government in secondary schools across the country are set to lose their jobs as part of new changes occasioned by the transition to Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) by learners across the country. 

The looming job cuts came after the government began issuing redundancy letters to the affected staff indicating that their jobs cease effective January 1, 2025.

The Kenya Union Of Domestic Hotels Educational Institutions Hospitals & Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) revealed that the government announced that they will be laying off the staff as part of new cost-cutting efforts.

This follows the domiciling of the Grade 9 learners within the Primary schools across the country.

Initially, the staff worked at secondary schools across the country and it has since been established that their services would be surplus to the requirement.

KUDHEIHA has instead asked the government to transfer the affected staff to other jobs within the learning institutions to avoid subjecting them to untold suffering.

KUDHEIHA Secretary General Albert Njeru urged the government to reconsider its decision before the schools open in January.

Njeru added that the government should also consider sending some of them on early retirement.

”We are asking the government particularly the President on behalf of the more than 500,000 non-teaching staff to kindly intervene on this matter,” Njeru stated.

They are not aware of their fate as the Boards of Management are only giving notices of redundancy without any proper guidance from the Ministry,” he added.

The decision to send the thousands of staff home is set to affect individuals such as laboratory technicians, and school secretaries among others.

”Let us redeploy all the non-teaching staff to the JSS system because they understand it. Some of them are working as laboratory technicians, cleaners, and secretaries. They have what it takes to handle the roles,” Njeru urged.

Should the government go ahead with its decision on the thousands of workers, then such is likely to add to the other thousands of Kenyans who are currently facing hardships over job losses.