Teachers In Agony as TSC Table Less Increment than SRC
After reaching a deadlock about how to reward teachers during wage review talks that started in Nairobi yesterday, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and three unions must now start over.
In meetings with TSC members, representatives from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) expressed dissatisfaction with the commission’s initial offer, claiming it fell far short of their expectations. Next Monday, when fresh suggestions are anticipated to be presented, is the day that all parties agreed to undertake more negotiations.
Union leaders predicted that the negotiations would be centred on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for 2021–25, in which Kuppet requested a basic pay increase for its members of between 30 and 70%. Knut had requested a 60% wage increase for its members in the same paper.
The secretaries general of Knut and Kuppet, Collins Oyuu and Akelo Misori, objected to the fact that TSC had based the first conversations on statements made most recently by President William Ruto and a recommendation from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), both of which the unions had disagreed with. The unions contend that because TSC is an independent body, it has the authority to determine employee wages without consulting or being directed by the salary commission.
Additionally, they disagreed with a TSC plan that revised the seven to ten percent rise that SRC had originally suggested for teachers in upper grades and instead advocated a 2.5% raise. A similar amount, which is less than the 9.5 percent that SRC had earlier suggested, was also given to teachers in the lower classes.
A salary increase below this will be below inflation rate, which means that it is unlikely to protect workers from the high cost of goods and services. Kenya’s inflation now stands at roughly 7%.
After the meeting with TSC members at the Kenya School of Government, Misori observed, “It is sad that what TSC has presented is less than the advisory that SRC gave.”
Oyuu added: “The 7 to 10% intended to cushion teachers and public officials because the country is going through hard economic times. As much as we appreciate the President, we also want to speak with TSC and let them know that the evaluation was not what we had anticipated.
The unions claimed that they entered the negotiations expecting to get an offer but that their expectations were crushed as a result of the presidential announcement and SRC advisory.
“Even what the President announced is not within what TSC is thinking about because they have come up with figures like 9.5 percent for those in the lower category and 2.4 percent for those in higher grades and further suggesting that the payment be done in phases of two years,” claimed Misori, accusing TSC of prolonging teachers’ anxiety.
“We have given them until Monday to develop concrete proposals that we can discuss.”
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While this was going on, TSC provided printed copies of the initial offer to the unions, instructing the representatives to review it and make recommendations at the following meeting.
Teachers In Agony as TSC Table Less Increment than SRC
The two unions concurred that this was a positive development because they had been seeking a meeting with TSC and appreciated the commission’s invitation to engage in negotiations.
Because this is consuming our time and energy, we are pleading with the instructors for their patience so that we can have a successful engagement on Monday, added Misori.
He claimed that Kuppet would not, at least for the time being, impose conditions on negotiations and that the union still had time to negotiate as long as it gave teachers what was acceptable to their employer.
The Covid-19 epidemic forced the anticipated 2020 start date for salary review discussions to be moved to 2021. Again due to Covid, the unions agreed to a non-monetary CBA in July 2021, but they have been calling for a review in advance of the CBA’s expiration next year.
Nobody should lower it because Treasury has accepted and SRC has advised, but we can still wait as long as we receive our proper compensation, as guaranteed in our negotiations and with the windfall from the President of between seven and ten percent, added Misori.
The union head was perplexed as to why TSC was cutting the officer made by the President and SRC, much like his Knut colleagues.
“We inquired of them. What were you going to present to us in the event that the President did not make a decision regarding seven to ten percent? So, the presidential pronouncement is the only item we have discussed, he continued.
The President’s offer, which was approved by the Salaries Commission, was supposed to go into effect on July 1. However, according to union leaders, members have yet to see this reflected on their payslips.
Oyuu stated yesterday that the unions will scrutinise the information SRC had provided to TSC before the employer and Knut decided on the method of implementation.
“KNUT welcomes the 2.4% and 9.5%, and we have grounds for doing so. Oyuu stated, “We claimed what we had offered let the lowest earning instructors get the largest percentage and best earning teachers get lower percentages, but SRC can only advise the teachers’ employer and not give it orders.
He claimed that the topic of SRCs had come up at previous International Labour Organisation (ILO) conferences, and the advice given was always that the commission should stop acting like a union and that its duty should be limited to providing advice rather than advocating wage increases for workers.
“Teachers have suffered in this country, and we are surprised that TSC has not brought anything,” he added of the negotiations from yesterday.
Teachers In Agony as TSC Table Less Increment than SRC
All of the unions declined to sign the TSC-presented paperwork. They insisted on questioning them further and maintained that the 2021/25 CBA must serve as the foundation for any future negotiations.
Teachers In Agony as TSC Table Less Increment than SRC
