Teachers’ union have signed a collective bargaining agreement(CBA) without salary rise weeks after they rejected an offer tabled by the Teachers Service Commission(TSC).
TSC had invited officials of the Kenya National Union of Teachers(Knut), the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers(Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special needs Education teachers(Kusnet) for talks on a new CBA for the next five years.
Knut secretary general Collins Oyuu assured teachers that all was not lost and they still have room to fight for basic salary increase.
“…the signing of a CBA is not an event but a process,” he said.
The agreement will serve between this July to July 2026.
Teachers will only be entitled to additional maternity leave (120 days from 90) and paternity leave (21 days from 14).
Kuppet secretary general Akello Misori said that they appreciate the expanded leave days but once TSC gets a go-ahead they expect a review of the basic pay between 30-70 per cent as they had proposed.
“We expect another meeting within one year,” he said.
The commission will then effect the two-year salary review freeze directive for all government employees as directed by the Salary Remuneration Commission(SRC).
In May, SRC declared that it would not review basic salary structures, allowances, and benefits for public servants, in the financial year 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 following recommendations from the National Treasury.
“Cognisant of the government’s financial constraints, the current wage bill ratios, the need to release resources for investment in the strategic priorities of the government to jumpstart the Covid-19-ravaged economy, there will be no review of the basic salary structures, allowances and benefits paid in the public sector in the financial year 2021/2022-2022/23,” she said.
In the proposal presented by TSC, the commission offered to grant female teachers maternity leave of 120 days up from the current 90 days with full salary with effect from the date of delivery.
Male teachers’ partanity leave has been increased from 14 days to 21 days.
On pre-adoptive leave, the commission offered to grant teachers leave for 45 days from the date of adoption.