Teachers employed with Teacher Service Commission, TSC, are waring up the Commission is set to pay them leave allowances in their January this week.
Teachers like other service public employees are entitled to a number of leaves including thirty days annual leaves with full pay which can be applied during school holidays.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, KUPPET, has come up with a raft of demands to see increased perks for its members. In the proposal, KUPPET wants salaries and allowances for its members to be reviewed upwards by the TSC to cushion them against the increased Cost of living.
“The cost of living has increased rapidly over the last two years affecting the purchasing power of household goods and services. The transport cost has increased beyond the commuter allowance negotiated due to increase of fuel and general overall transport cost”, reads the document.
The union demands that the following issues may be considered for negotiations to cushion teachers in their delivery of services.
The Union demands that commuter allowance be increased by 50% of the current rate. The commuter allowance shall be paid as per Appendix. In the proposal, KUPPET also demands that leave allowance be paid based on one’s basic pay i.e., an equivalent of one month’s basic pay for all cadres.
They want an increased leave allowance between Kshs. 27,325-Kshs. 43,694 for the lowest-paid teachers in job group C2. Those in the highest job group, D5, are to get a leave allowance of Kshs. 152,000. The leave allowance is payable once a year, with the January salaries.
The Union demands that House allowance be harmonized across all regions’, Teachers in Grade C2 should enjoy the same house allowance whether in Nairobi or Marsabit and this should be in all grades.
While teachers enjoy equal house allowance across all regions, the Union proposes the introduction of township allowance.
Teachers in urban areas experience challenges of the high cost of living and expensive urban transport and this makes no difference with a teacher in a hardship area. We propose a town allowance of 30% of basic salary be paid to teachers in major cities or county headquarters.
Hardship allowance shall be payable to teachers assigned duties in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) areas. However, the areas declared as hardship needs to be reviewed because there are other emerging issues like terrorism, cattle rustling, etc.
Teachers are assigned duties outside the workstation. In the civil service, there are guidelines stipulating the allowance for every cadre. The Union has proposed the development of clear guidelines on the payment of accommodation allowance (per diem) as well as the amount as shown in the appendix.
In the appendix, Teachers in grade C2 are to receive between 6,000 and 3,000 in big cities and others areas respectively. While those in grade D4 will receive between 10,000 and 5,000
The teaching service has no scheme of service for teachers who have attained Masters and Doctorate degrees. Instead, the employer awards three increments to the holders of such qualifications.
The proposed scheme seeks to allow TSC to recruit teachers possessing post-graduate qualifications at entry-level. The Union demands that the Postgraduate scheme of service be developed and be eligible to all teachers holding a Master’s and Doctorate degree.
The said teachers shall be paid an allowance equivalent to 40% of the basic salary. Parties agreed that career progression in the teaching service shall be as provided under Part VI of the Code of Regulations for Teachers.
However, KUPPET demands that the Commission in performance of its obligation under this agreement ensures that every teacher under its employment is facilitated to undergo professional development
KUPPET demands that working hours for all teachers be 8 hours per day, from 8.00 am. to 5.00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break for five days, 40 hours per week – Monday to Friday.
Further, the Union proposes that any extra hours worked be compensated as overtime as teachers in boarding sections are overworked and no monetary compensation is done. The overtime allowance schedule is attached as per the Appendix.
