Teachers will receive their August salaries later than usual, depending on the outcome of pay increase negotiations between their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), and their unions, scheduled for this morning.
According to reliable sources, the TSC has not released teachers' pay slips as it is waiting to see if it will reach an agreement with the unions after initial talks on Monday last week failed to produce a deal.
Teachers who spoke to Nation yesterday said their payslips were not reflected on their employer's portal, which is late by normal standards.
If the parties agree and sign a deal, teachers will receive an improved package backdated to July 1, 2023. But, if the unions refuse to sign, they will be paid the old salaries.
Last week, the unions and the TSC leadership met at the Kenya School of Government, but 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) refused to sign the TSC's offer of between 2.4 per cent and 9.5 per cent salary increase, saying, it was lower than that recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
The unions accused the TSC of deceit, saying, the offer was way below the seven to 10 per cent increase recommended by SRC for all civil servants, security forces and teachers.
Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu (centre) addresses journalists at the Kenya School of Government on Monday, August 21, after a meeting with the Teachers Service Commission over salary increment negotiations.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
The SRC had recommended a pay rise of between seven and 10 per cent for all civil servants and teachers. Negotiations have been taking place out of the limelight, most recently on Friday last week.
The unions also want the lowest paid teachers to receive the highest increase, while those in higher grades receive the least, Kuppet and Knut secretaries-general Akello Misori and Collins Oyuu respectively said.
Mr Oyuu said they were promised a wage increase of between seven and 10 per cent for their members when they met President William Ruto at State House when he was lobbying for support for the Finance Bill 2023, which he signed into law.
The unions insist that this is not part of the review of an extended Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that they have been pushing for.
While Kuppet wants a wage adjustment of between 30 and 70 per cent, Knut wants a 60 per cent increase across the board.
The unions signed a CBA with the TSC in 2021 that runs until 2025, but did not include a monetary aspect due to the economic situation at the time, which was blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic.
