Union officials say the workload has increased because of the compressed school calendar to cover for time lost.
A union has urged the government to reopen talks on teachers’ salary review, which were frozen last year because of Covid-19.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers said it wants the talks reopened once schools resume from the December holidays.
The union said the freeze for the Third Public Sector Remuneration and Benefits Cycle was blamed on poor economic performance occasioned by the pandemic. The situation has improved, the union said.
As per President Uhuru Kenyatta’s state of the nation address, worries about economic performance have been overcome by remarkable post-Covid recovery and robust economic growth rates,” Kuppet secretary general Akelo Misori said.
He said the government has reviewed salaries and allowances for several cadres in the Judiciary, the Public Service Commission and county governments over the last few months.
Misori spoke during Kuppet’s annual delegates conference at Eldoret National Polytechnic. He was accompanied by national chairman Omboko Milemba and other officials.
“The ADC has directed Kuppet’s national executive board to immediately communicate the union’s demand to the relevant authorities on the matter of salaries for teachers,” Misori said.
He said the union would this week write to the Treasury, the Teachers Service Commission and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission over the matter.
“Teachers are the lowest paid civil servants and we expect a response to our demand by early January because teachers are eagerly waiting for the same,” Misori said.
Union officials said the teachers’ workload has increased because of the compressed school calendar to cover for the time lost.“The teachers have worked hard and given more of their time to help children recover the lost time hence the need to look into the issue of their pay,” Misori added.
The union is also urging the government to work with all stakeholders in dealing with the current wave of indiscipline in schools.
Kuppet urged students to use dialogue to resolve issues they may have instead of destroying school infrastructure
