The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has surprised many by calling in teachers’ unions for a meeting to input the final touches on the new 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
A note from the Commission has revealed that the meeting is set to take place tomorrow at the Safari Park Hotel, tomorrow the 29th of June, 2021 in Nairobi.
A short while ago, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) had informed teachers and other civil servants that any salary increments have been frozen.
Besides, to compound the teachers’ misery, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani did not factor in funds for teachers’ salary increments in the recently announced 2021/2022 Budget.
But now, TSC’s summoning has given teachers renewed hopes as the Commission is working hard behind the scenes to beat the set deadline since the CBA is set to end at the end of the current month.
Invitation letters have been sent to the bosses of teachers’ unions.
“The Commission has the pleasure to invite the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) to a meeting to be held on Tuesday, 29th June 2021 at Safari Park Hotel, in Nairobi. The meeting will commence at 10:00 am,” reads a memo sent to Akello Misori, the KUPPET secretary general.
Among the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting shall be preliminaries, declaration of conflict of interest, the tabling of the commission’s offer, and negotiations for the 2021-2025 CBA.
The Kenya Nation Union of Teachers (KNUT) has also received the invitation.
TSC’s hand was forced after KUPPET threatened industrial action if the Commission could not award teachers a raise in pay.
TSC’s Proposal
It is highly likely that TSC will stick to their guns and maintain their early proposal.
TSC’s proposals entail a basic increment of between 16 and 32 percent with classroom teachers getting a bigger piece of the cake.
The 16% pay rise will be in the basic salary for teachers who are in the administrative grades (i.e. C4 to D5) who earned a good amount in the current 2021-2021 CBA. Classroom teachers in the other grades (i.e. B5, to C3) will be awarded a pay rise of 30 percent.
However, the two teachers’ unions, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET) opposed the Commission’s proposals claiming they do not meet their requirement.
KNUT on their part proposed a basic pay rise of between 120 and 200 percent while KUPPET wanted an increment of 30 to 70 percent.
In terms of allowances, TSC proposed a 20 percent increment in commuter and leave allowances. House allowance was to be raised by 10 percent. These proposals paled in comparison to what the teachers’ unions were asking for.
KUPPET was fighting for the expansion of allowances of teachers to include post-graduate and township allowances. Township allowances were meant for teachers staying in towns. A harmonization of house allowances was also part of KUPPET’s demands.
At the moment, teachers who are working in towns and former municipalities get higher house allowances as compared to their counterparts who ply their trade in rural areas. However, KUPPET proposed the harmonization of house allowances based on job groups as opposed to regions.
Another allowance that KUPPET proposed is the special school allowances that they propose to be paid at the rate of Sh. 15,000 per month.
KUPPET also wanted readers’ facilitation allowance to be reviewed by 30 percent so that teachers can get Sh. 19,500 per month.
The readers’ allowance is an allowance paid to a teacher who is visually impaired who has engaged a reader whose minimum qualification is not below KCSED+/KCE Division III. At the moment it is the commission that determines the amount paid for this allowance from time to time.
The facilitation or aid allowance at the moment is paid at the rate of Sh. 15,000 per month to blind teachers and those who are confined to wheelchairs by the virtue of their disability.
KUPPET also demanded leave be paid based on the basic pay of a teacher, that is, an equivalent of one’s basic pay for all cadres.
KUPPET revealed that the Commission had no recognition in terms of pay for teachers who have attained Masters and Doctorate degrees. Instead of this, TSC awards three increments to holders of those qualifications. The proposed scheme is seeking to allow the Commission to recruit teachers who have attained post-graduate qualifications at entry-level.
KUPPET wants the Post-Graduate scheme of service to be developed and be made eligible for all teachers who hold a Master’s and Doctorate degree. The union proposes that teachers with such qualifications get paid a stipend which is 40 percent of their basic salary so that holders of Master’s Degrees get 20 percent that depends on their basic salary and 40 percent for Ph.D. holders.
What are TSC’s offers on allowances?
TSC offers a 20 percent increase for both commuter and leaves allowances. Retention of the current clusters used to determine teachers’ allowances but then review them upwards by 10 percent.
Hardship allowance at the current rates is also to be retained.
TSC also declines proposals of adding new allowances comprising of a special school, township, and post-graduate allowances.
The government is expected to reject the above proposals owing to the economic recession that the novel COVID-19 pandemic caused.