TSC calls teachers for pay talks days after Wilson Sossion exit

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has invited teachers’ unions for salary review talks, only days after Friday’s exit of fiery Knut secretary-general Wilson Sossion.

The commission will from today commence talks with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), the Kenya Union for Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) over the proposed 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

TSC has called the talks despite a recent directive freezing salary increases in the public sector. According to the terse invitation letter signed by the commission CEO Nancy Macharia, TSC will table its salary review offer, forming the basis for the negotiations to begin. The unions have already presented their pay demands to the commission.

There are 330,671 teachers on the TSC payroll.

Fractious relationship

The unions have in recent months been demanding for a meeting with the teachers’ employer, but TSC had not responded to their demands. The invitation letters, curiously, were dispatched on June 25, 2021, the same day that the long-serving Knut secretary-general resigned just hours before the union elected new national officials.

Mr Sossion has had a fractious relationship with the TSC that resulted in him being deregistered as a teacher.

The protracted fights with TSC, which were fought in the courts as well as on the streets, saw the erstwhile giant union lose its membership from 187,000 to just about 15,000 currently.

In his teary exit speech on Friday, Mr Sossion called on the commission to begin negotiations for a fresh CBA.

Thousands of teachers, especially in primary schools, are not represented in any union after they quit Knut in order to benefit from salary increments and promotions that would leave out union members during Mr Sossion’s heady days with the TSC.

Sh54 billion

It is yet to be seen whether they will rejoin the union in order to benefit from future CBAs.

The 2017-2021 CBA that lapses at the end of this month was worth Sh54 billion, but was criticised for having benefited school administrators more than classroom teachers.

Kuppet Secretary-General Akello Misori welcomed TSC’s invitation for talks.

The union has this month written twice to the commission calling for urgent talks, pointing out that the current deal was only days to expiry.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) this month issued a directive freezing wage reviews for public servants over the next two years. Workers’ unions have roundly opposed the freeze and threatened to call strikes in protest.

SRC directed that annual salary adjustments in existing salary structures continue to be applied within budget allocation but no additional funding would be provided for implementation of job evaluation results in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years.

“We don’t talk to SRC directly. I don’t think they were talking to us (the unions); they were talking to the public,” said Mr Misori, adding that the directive will not affect the negotiations.

The union’s executive board met last week and demanded commencement of the negotiations, accusing TSC of insincerity.

“We urge you to expeditiously address this situation by honouring your commitment to negotiate in good faith. In the interest of the industrial peace that we have enjoyed under the CBA framework since 2017, then TSC must give the union a counter offer without any further delay,” Mr Misori said.

New CBA

The budget statement presented in Parliament early this month does not mention a new CBA or consideration for one.

The commission estimates that over the next three years, it will require Sh273 billion in 2021/2022, Sh274.7 billion in 2022/2023, and Sh279.3 billion to pay teachers.

This contrasts sharply with the big leap in expenditure in three years in the approved budget for the commission, from Sh218 billion in 2018 to Sh256 billion that is attributed to the employment of 19,700 teachers and the implementation of the CBA.

The new Knut general secretary, Collins Oyuu, will be thrust straight to the negotiating table, only having assumed office on Saturday afternoon. He pledged, in his acceptance speech, to restore cordial industrial relations with the employer who last year attempted to revoke their decade-old recognition agreement.

“The union is not at war with the government and with the employer; these were personal differences with the former official,” he said.

[email protected]