The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) has introduced new criteria that will henceforth affect how teachers’ salaries and allowances are determined in the new CBA 2021-2025.
Only teachers who are compliant are eligible for pay rise according to the latest proposal by TSC. TSC compliant encompasses many issues including being an officially registered teacher who is currently serving on Career Progress Guideline, CPGs, as opposed to the old schemes of services.
Now, TSC is demanding to have all teachers enrolled in Teacher Development Training, TPD fresher modules that go for 6000 shillings per session.
According to TSC, this is to ensure teachers’ skills are honed to meet the demand of the new CBC that has already been rolled out in the country.
What is most confusing to teachers is the fact that they have to squeeze their spare salaries to accommodate the free required TPD modules.
TSC presented new salary increments to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, SRC. The salaries increment was to be approved so as to be included in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA; cycle.
In the proposals, the Commission wanted a basic salary increment of between 16 percent and 32 percent;with classroom teachers getting the higher perks.
The 16 percent rise in basic pay was meant for teachers in administrative grades (C4 to D5) who reaped big from the 2016-2021 CBA. Classroom teachers in lower grades (B5 to C3) were supposed to be awarded an increment of 30 percent.
The teachers’ unions, Kenya National Union of Teachers(KNUT)and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers(KUPPET), opposed the proposals terming them a drop in the ocean.
The unions claimed there were no talks between them and TSC was supposed to come up with thee new salary scales, as should be the case during the CBA negotiations.
KNUT has proposed a basic pay rise of between 120 percent and 200 percent, while KUPPET wanted a 30 to 70 percent increment. For allowances, TSC proposed a 20 percent increment in commuter and leave allowances.
On its part, house allowance was to be increased by 10 percent. These proposals are by far much lower than what the unions proposed.
