KENYA: Court Orders Teachers To Call Of Strike

A Kenyan court on Friday ordered all teachers to end a month-long strike over pay in the east African country.

Judge Nelson Abuodha, from the Employment and Labour Relations Court, ruled teachers must suspend their strike for 90 days, so that children can study while negotiations are ongoing.

But the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) said they had not yet called off their protest.

"We need to consult first," KNUT secretary general Wilson Sossion said. "The strike remains on and there is no doubt about that, we will make a decision on Monday."

The Supreme Court ruled in August that state teachers should get a pay rise of at least 50%, but the government said they do not have the money to comply and refused. The teachers then went on strike.

Last week the education ministry ordered all schools closed until the strike ended. Kenya's annual school year officially began on August 31, but many schools never opened due to the strike. National exams are due to begin in October.