Secondary school teachers given pay raise

More than 50,000 teachers will benefit from a new salary package signed on Tuesay between one of their unions and the Government.

The deal between the Ministry of Education and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (Kuppet) is likely to derail plans by a rival union to call out teachers on strike next week.

In the new pay plan, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) undertakes to increase the salaries of secondary school teachers by between 35 and 168 per cent.

Those to benefit are teachers in job groups J (approved and diploma) to R (chief principal — those heading national schools, polytechnics and teacher training colleges). The salaries will be spread out in three years, with the first phase being doled out in July.

Teachers in Job group J currently earn a minimum of Sh16,535 and a maximum of Sh20,735. But this will rise to Sh18,464 and a maximum of 22,455.

Chief principals, the highest earners, will have their minimum pay shoot from the current Sh36,790 to Sh94,235 while the maximum peg shifts from Sh44,990 to Sh120,270.

With this new compensation structure, teachers in this category will compare favourably with their counterparts in the Civil Service, whose salaries have been adjusted several times in the past five years.

Teachers’ salary package stagnated for 12 years as they were tied to a collective bargaining agreement signed in 1997, but whose implementation was staggered to their disadvantage.

But the teachers have always benefited from higher housing and other allowances like the Civil Servants. For example, chief principals get same house allowance, Sh40,000 a month, just like a director in a ministry.

Snatched deal

A new graduate teacher will now earn Sh20,884 up from Sh18,165 a month and has a maximum of Sh31, 996.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet), which currently does not have a recognition agreement, announced yesterday that it ‘snatched’ the deal from the giant Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut).

“We had to snatch the deal after we realised that the matter was now headed to the industrial court,” said Mr Njeru Kanyamba, Kuppet secretary-general at their offices at Ufundi Co-operative Plaza.

The union was not a part of the Teachers Service Remuneration Committee, which was formed by the Education minister Sam Ongeri in May last year to review teachers salaries.

But Knut secretary-general Lawrence Majali insisted the pact does not undermine their negotiation with the Government.

“We do not begrudge teachers when they get any salary increase. Our problem is when it is done selectively,” he said on the telephone.

“We will continue to push for a comprehensive compensation for all teachers, not just a clique,” he added and promised to issue a comprehensive response after studying Kuppet-Government’s package.

Tuesday’s decision to have the salaries of secondary school teachers harmonised with those in the Civil Service will mean that about 160,000 teachers in primary schools may lose out, after their representative, Knut, rejected the offer.

The Government had offered Sh17.3 billion to increase the salaries of teachers. Primary school teachers were to get a 35 per cent raise, but Knut snubbed that.

On Tuesday, the Government said it was committed to resolving salary discrepancies among all its employees, including teachers.

The memorandum was signed by Education permanent secretary Karega Mutahi, TSC chairman Ibrahim Hussein and secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni.

It was witnessed by Ms Maureen Onyango of Federation of Kenya Employers, Mr William Mwangi, treasurer of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, Mr Njeru Kanyamba and Mr Akelo Misori both of Kuppet.

It was signed at the office of the Chief Industrial Relations Officer Joseph Yidah at the National Social Security Fund, NSSF Building.
Accordingly, Prof Ongeri will now prepare a remuneration order to the Finance ministry directing that the salaries of teachers in post-primary institutions employed by the TSC be increased according to the terms of the agreement.

This move is likely to create a big wedged between primary and secondary school teachers. Most likely to be hard hit is the giant Knut, whose membership base and bargaining power is increasingly being gnawed away by Kuppet.