Teachers unions in Kenya have come out to demand the renegotiation of the newly signed pay deal.
This is according to emerging reports. Apparently, both local teachers unions KNUT and KUPPET have pointed out that teachers may not fully benefit if the Sh. 54 billion pay deal is phased out over four years.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion said they signed the payment schedule on condition that there will be room to re-look the time frames. “That was a working document and we shall negotiate a shorter period because four years is a long period. International practice says that any CBA that goes beyond two years, workers get disadvantaged,” said Mr Sossion.
On the other hand, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary General Akello Misori called for social dialogue in some aspects of the CBA. “We seek this so that the sections of the CBA do not come to haunt teachers later,” said Mr Misori. The Kuppet boss said challenges of inflation will eat into what teachers would have acquired as part of the pay deal. The concerns were raised in Mombasa during the 42nd Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) annual meeting.
he deal with Teachers Service Commission (TSC) shows two separate payment plans for classroom teachers and staffs in management positions.
“The implementation will be in two phases for teachers currently in job group H, J and K and in four phases for those in job group L to R,” said Lydia Nzomo, TSC chairperson. This means that under the new grading system that ranges from B5 to D5, teachers earning between Sh21,757 and Sh43,694 will get their increment implemented in two phases. And those under job group C3 to D5 who earn between Sh43,154 and Sh157,656 will have their increment effected in four phases.
