KNUT And KUPPET Launch A Fresh Push To Award Teachers Salary Increment

Teachers’ union, KNUT, and KUPPET are working secretaries behind the scene to ensure an increment in salary for their members.

According to the reports, both KNUT and KUPPET are reported to be in a casual meeting with the top Teachers Service Commission (TSC) officials to iron out issues that will give room for salary review.

Even though teachers have missed out on pay rise through the national budget, a section of union officials, both KNUT and KUPPET, have cited a possibility of a supplementary budget as a sure way of making teachers get the higher pack.

Teachers missed out on the national budget after TSC and the teachers’ union failed to agree early enough to review the non-monetary CBA they signed in July last year to include salary components.

A supplementary budget is usually done when the government ministries and state departments request additional funds from the treasury in the year.

According to sources, TSC is now more determined to solve the biting teacher shortage in the country rather than investing resources in salaries.

Despite the Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani allocating an additional 14.8 billion shillings to TSC this year, the commission refuted claims that it will use the money for awarding salary increments for teachers.

In a report that was presented in parliament, TSC says that the allocation of additional money will be used to employ more teachers.

In a budget, TSC allocated 2.5 billion shillings for employing 5,000 teachers on permanent terms and another 1.3 billion shillings for employing 6,000 others on internships.

The talks between TSC and the unions, KNUT and KUPPET, concerning the review of CBA 2021-2025, which created new hopes for teachers’ salary changes, collapsed.

KUPPET’s attempt to force the commission to review teachers’ salaries failed. KUPPET, which had initially issued a strike notice, withdrew and has since gone silent.