MIGORI: Operations at Yago Mixed Secondary School in Migori County have hit a standstill after casual support staff, including kitchen personnel, security guards, and grounds maintenance teams, downed their tools over long-overdue salaries.

Speaking through staff representative Jared Ochieng, the workers accused the school’s administration, led by Principal Richard Odhiambo, of failing to disburse their monthly wages despite over a year of continuous service.

According to the affected workers, the ongoing financial crisis began following recent administrative changes at the institution.

Under previous school leadership, support staff received their compensation on a predictable monthly or bi-monthly schedule, even during tight financial periods.

“Under the previous leadership, even when funds were tight, we were paid step-by-step every month or two,” Ochieng noted.

“But under the current administration with Principal Richard Odhiambo, we have worked for more than a year without pay.”

In response to severe household financial strain, the staff issued a formal notice to management demanding an immediate resolution.

When the final deadline elapsed on July 21 without any wage disbursement from the school administration, the workers resolved to walk off the job and halt all support services.

“We are the ones cooking for the students and keeping the school running daily,” Ochieng emphasized further pointing that, “We gave the administration a fourteen-day notice to settle our dues, but nothing was done. We have families depending on us, and we cannot continue working on empty stomachs. We call upon county officials and education authorities to intervene and audit the school’s finances.”

Jurisdictional confusion over salary funding

A fresh twist has emerged in the standoff after workers submitted their formal grievances to the school board, only to be informed that their pending salary arrears would need to be sourced from the Migori County Government.

Workers questioned the legal basis of that response, pointing out that under Kenyan educational policy, secondary school non-teaching staff are employed and compensated directly by individual school Boards of Management (BOM) through tuition capitation allocations and parental operations fees.

County governments, by contrast, primarily manage Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centers and local vocational polytechnics.

This jurisdictional contradiction has raised sharp questions among staff and local stakeholders regarding institutional governance, with workers seeking clarity on whether the non-payment stems from broader financial mismanagement within the school’s accounts.

Workers irreducible minimums

The industrial action has directly crippled daily operations at the school, particularly meal preparations for students and basic grounds security.

To resolve the stalemate, the casual staff have outlined three non-negotiable conditions before resuming duty.

Full disbursement of all accumulated wage arrears spanning the past 12 months, secondly they want immediate transfer of Principal Odhiambo due to a complete breakdown of trust and failure to safeguard staff welfare, and finally a formal audit by Ministry of Education auditors into the school’s account management, parental fee collections, and government capitation allocations.

The striking staff maintain that returning to work will only be possible once transparent, direct dialogue is established between the school administration, the Board of Management, and worker representatives.