TPD Cost, 60pc Salary Increase Among Top KNUT-TSC Negotiation.
Teachers are demanding a 60% pay increase, which they want to be implemented right away.
Collins Oyuu, secretary general of Knut, stated that the high cost of living has prompted a rethinking of teacher salaries.
“We have commenced a structured negotiation with the employer to see to it that a 60 percent salary raise is awarded to teachers,” Oyuu said.
Oyuu spoke at a press conference at the Knut headquarters in Nairobi.
He demanded that the 2021-25 collective bargaining agreement, which was signed with non-monetary benefits, be reviewed.
“The human resource benefits are both to the teacher, the employer, and everyone in this profession,” Oyuu said.
Non-monetary benefits included extended paid maternity leave for female teachers and the introduction of paternity leave for male teachers in the 2021-25 CBA.
However, Oyuu believes it is past time for the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to consider raising teacher salaries.
“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 said.
These demands, according to Oyuu, were discussed between TSC and Knut from July 7 to July 9.
The official promised that the union and TSC will have a strong relationship in the future, but that this will not prevent the union from fighting for teachers’ rights.
“This time round we have put it squarely and barely that teachers have an irreducible minimum demand. Teachers want money and not stories,” he said.
Knut also wants TSC to address the issue of teacher professional development payments, which are borne by the teachers.
Oyuu believes TPD is a good idea that will benefit teachers, but he criticizes TSC for failing to educate teachers about the program.
“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 Sh6,000 for TPD, which Oyuu believes the government should cover.
TPD aims to assist teachers in renewing their professional certifications every five years.
In its intervention, the union requested that the National Assembly appropriate Sh4.5 billion for the purpose of purchasing modules in TPD, and this money was made available.
Teachers must therefore complete five years of in-service professional training and have their certificates renewed.
The professional development will last 30 years, with six modules lasting five years each.
“There is more that Knut and the employer can do to secure a budgetary allocation, particularly to fund training for all teachers,” Oyuu said.
The union stated that there is a need to review teacher promotion policies.
Teachers are currently promoted based on their appraisal mode rather than their qualifications.
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According to Oyuu, no teacher should suffer a financial loss as a result of being transferred or promoted.
“It is ironic when one is promoted and then they lose some benefits they really worked hard for,” Oyuu said.
TPD Cost, 60pc Salary Increase Among Top KNUT-TSC Negotiation
