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| Collins Oyuu, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers of Kenya. |
Collins Oyuu, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers of Kenya (Knut), has called for a review of the salary agreement signed last year, which does not provide any monetary benefits.
Knut wants the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to be reviewed and the monetary component to be included within three months.
Oyuu said Knut has already started discussions with employers' Teachers' Service Commission (TSC) on possibilities to renegotiate the 2021-2025 CBA.
“…inclusion of the pay rise component. "We've pushed for this and continue to do so because we appreciate that the reasons we didn't raise pay at this particular CBA is because the economy is performing poorly due to the effects of Covid-19."
“Treasury has allocated funds to empower TSC cat for the same purpose. “We are committed to having ourselves, the employer, and other necessary stakeholders to accelerate the discussion.”
In July, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), citing difficult economic times, offered unions a non-monetary 2021-2025 CBA that teachers protested.
While there are no immediate changes in teachers' salaries, the CBA said, talks are not the end of the day as TSC plans to hold another discussion on the issue in less than twelve months that could review the signed agreement.
Dr Macharia said they are considering the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) directive.
"Although the union's proposal contains a financial component, the commission begged them to consider the recommendation by the SRC to freeze wage reviews in the public sector," Dr Macharia said after signing the agreement.
Oyuu also wants TSC to bear the costs of teacher training.
Teachers currently pay an annual fee of sh.6,000 for Teacher Professional Development (TPD) training.
In his demands, Knut argues that although continuing education in any occupation sharpens the skills of employees and puts them in an advantageous position, the cost must be borne by the employer.
“We are keen to get employers to pay their tuition bills either in full or their share of costs with teachers. These skills are designed to benefit the employer as well as the employee,” said Collins Oyuu, the union's Secretary General.
In addition, the union wants the age group to participate in the trainings.
Describing the period of completing the entire 30-year education period as quite long, Oyuu added that this may not make sense for teachers aged 55 and over.
Teachers are expected to leave with Sh6,000 per department each year. Each teacher is expected to take six modules and each module is taken after five years. And a module is organized in the annual chapters.
Kenya Post-Primary Teachers Union (Kuppet), Secretary General Akello Misori, referring to the freeze on salary negotiations, said that the effects of Covid-19 have hit teachers hard.
Misori said the economy is recovering and hence there is a need for TSC to restart talks on a salary review.
"Significant among these results was the freeze on salary reviews during the Third Public Sector Compensation and Benefits Review Cycle (covering fiscal years 2021-2025), which the government blames on poor economic performance caused by the pandemic," Misori said.
He said he rejected Kuppet's justification for freezing and saw it as an appropriate cover for the government to step back from its commitment to teachers.
“We had to sign a non-monetary CBA to preserve previous gains and maintain the collective bargaining framework,” Misori said.
He noted that the union was tolerant and reasonable, but that the time to push for new terms could not wait another year.
"Enough is enough, we've been tolerant and reasonable enough. But we expect TSC to respect our views and initiate negotiations," he said.
Misori said the freeze in the salary review was due to poor economic performance related to the virus.
The Kuppet boss noted that the government has been reviewing salaries and allowances for several positions in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the Civil Service Commission (PSC) and county governments over the past few months and wonders why they were left out.
“We want to make this very clear; Teachers are professionals, not beggars. They know when to speak and what to say. "We know this is the right time to deal with an issue like this without the interference of school calendars."
Although the Treasury increased the TAF budget in its 2022-2023 fiscal budget proposal, the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC) said that the extra money added to the ministries' budgets is for annual salary increases.
“Every year, officers receive a salary increase to cover various factors, including cost of living, and this amount is easy to determine each year. "But that's different from salary increases through CBAs, which are frozen for two years until the economy recovers."
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani allocated an additional Shy 14.9 billion to TSC, whose budget has increased from Sh 281.7 billion to Sh 296.6 billion this year.
TSC will receive an additional Sh15 billion for fiscal year 2022-2023, and sources say the additional money is for salary increase and hiring new teachers.
The National Treasury also allocated an additional Sh 70.8 billion to ministries for current expenditures, including annual wage growth.
However, the budget is subject to parliamentary approval.
Sources say the government plans to increase teachers' salaries just a month before the general election.
"This is to appease the unhappy teachers and the government will want to do something about it in the election year," said the member of the National Assembly Education Commission.
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