The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) differed on the proposed salary increment by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Speaking on Tuesday, August 22 after a meeting with TSC to review the 2021/2025 collective bargaining agreement, the union leaders gave distinct reasons for their decisions.
KUPPET rejected the proposal to increase the teacher’s salary by 2.4% to 9.5% arguing it was lower than their expectations.
“They have come up with figures like 9.5% for those who are in the lower category and about 2.4% for those who are earning higher grades,” stated KUPPET Secretary General Akello Misori.
Furthermore, Misori criticized TSC saying they are still suggesting that the payment is phased in two years even at that level.
“So, you can imagine how deceitful TSC is and how they are prolonging our anxiety,” he added.
“Our hopes have been dust by further mutilation of even what we regard as a windfall from the president and the advisory from the Salaries and Renumeration Commission,” Misori said.
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KNUT Accepts the Salary Proposal
On the contrary, KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyu said the union will accept the offer.
“The 2.4% to 9.5% increment is welcomed by KNUT, and we have reasons. We said, of what was presented, let the lowest earning teacher get the highest percentage and the highest earning get the lowest teacher. In that line, we agree with TSC.
What we expected in the review is not what they brought to us, and we asked them a question, suppose the president did not pronounce 7% to 10% then what you were going to bring to us,” said Oyuu.
In addition, KUPPET criticized TSC for being inconsistent with President William Ruto’s directive and SRC advisory to increase teachers and civil servants’ salaries by between 7% and 10%.
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“Our demands were given to TSC in 2019, in an event we (teachers) cannot get what we demanded for, why should someone reduce what the president and SRC pronounced, where has the other funds gone to?” Misori posed.
Previously, the union demanded for a 30% to 70% salary increase.
Further, if the two unions agree with TSC proposed pay rise, the teachers will get half of the increment in this financial year (2023/2024) and the remaining half will be paid in the next financial year.