KNUT demands 60 per cent salary increment from TSC

The Kenya National Union of Teachers now says that it wants the immediate increment of teacher’s salary by 60 percent.

The teachers umbrella body has indicated that the teacher’s salary is no longer tenable in the wake of the high cost of living thus the need for an immediate increment. “We have commenced a structured negotiation with the employer to see to it that a 60 per cent salary rise is awarded to teachers,” said KNUT secretary general Collins Oyuu.

“The inflation rate at the moment does not allow us to continue having boardroom meetings with our employer. The economic times are extremely harsh,” he added. The teachers umbrella body has further called for a review of the 2021-25 collective bargaining agreement, which it says was signed with non-monetary benefits. Oyuu revealed that the union’s demands formed part of the discussions held between TSC and KNUT on July 7 to July.

Knut also wants the teachers’ employer TSC to address the issue of payments for the Teachers Professional Development which are said to be footed by the teachers. He urges that TPD is a good idea that will help teachers, but that which teachers have not been sensitized about. “We however discovered that TSC did not invest in sensitizing teachers on its need, usefulness, involvement and its benefit, and that’s why it was met with resistance,” he said.

Teachers are supposed to pay Ksh6,000 for TPD, which Oyuu said should be catered to by the government. The TPD rolled by the teachers’ service commission is expected to run for 30 years which six modules each lasting five years. TPD seeks to help teachers renew their professional certificates every five years.

 The new demands by the teachers’ body is likely to pit teachers against their employer in yet a fresh push for demands of salary scale ups. Currently a P1 teacher earns a minimum of Ksh25,692.