KNUT Demands Pay Rise For Teachers Within 3 Months, Here Is The Proposed Basic Pay

The Kenya National Union of Teachers, KNUT, has once again refreshed its battles with the Teachers Service Commission, TSC. KNUT secretary Collins Oyuu has called for a review of the salary deal signed last year which was without monetary benefit.

KNUT wants the Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA, revisited and money component included within three months. KNUT has already initiated discussion with the employer, TSC, over the possibilities of renegotiating 2021-2025 CBA

Collins Oyuu said that to have salary component included, they have and will continue to push for this because they appreciate the fact that the reason, they did not have a salary raise in this particular CBA was that the economy was performing worse due to the effects of Covid-19.

He added that the treasury has already appropriated funds to boost the TSC kitty for the same purpose. Oyuu said that they are determined to have themselves, the employer, and any other stakeholder expedite the discussion.

In July 2021, TSC, citing hard economic times, offered the union a none monetary 2021-2025 CBA, which teachers have protected. The current CBA only favors teachers in administrative positions, leaving the classroom tutor with little increment over the last four years

Teachers had been expecting to get new terms for the 2021-2016 CBA. Both Knut and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) had separately presented their salary proposals to inform negotiations with TSC.

Kuppet had pitched a salary increment of between 30 and 70 percent for the new 2021-2026 while TSC is reported to have proposed between 16 to 32 percent.

The Kuppet proposal would see the lowest-paid teacher’s salary rise from Sh21,756 to Sh36,985 while those in higher cadres under Job Group D4 who currently earn Sh118,242 would take home Sh153,714. Knut had also proposed a salary increment of between 120 and 200

These TSC counter-proposals were never presented to unions and this means that there have never been any discussions about the CBA, even after TSC wrote to SRC.