Union offered new deal under SRC rules

The salaries team has invited striking teachers for a fresh round of talks promising to meet a considerable part of their demands if the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) can return to the negotiating table.

Mrs Sarah Serem, who chairs the salaries team, on Sunday said she had developed a framework for negotiation that has significantly captured the pay package that Knut is asking for. A nationwide strike called by the union enters its third week on Monday.

“The negotiations are not empty,” Ms Serem said.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) — which employs teachers — has been directed on the guidelines for the talks to ensure that the wage bill is not only affordable and sustainable but also that the pay will be at the same level as that of other workers in similar ranks.

“Whatever decision the TSC has to take shall be within such parameters. We have ensured that the pay package will be sustainable until it is fully implemented,” Mrs Serem said although she did not disclose the offer to be presented to the striking teachers.

Earlier, TSC chief executive Gabriel Lengoiboni had declared that the fresh talks with Knut would be conducted under the advice given by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the body created to advise the government on the salaries of public officers.

Earlier talks collapsed last week after the union and the Labour Ministry failed to agree.

Knut has been demanding Sh47 billion for its members as part of an agreement the union signed with the government 16 years ago, now known as Legal Notice 254 of 1997. The agreement offers teachers house, medical and commuter allowances calculated at a percentage of their basic salaries. Other payments under the deal have been honoured over the years.

“We have put all these demands together and forwarded them to the SRC. The commission has since insisted that the demands must be fiscally sustainable and in harmony with the pay in the civil service,” Mr Lengoiboni said. “The negotiations must, therefore, be undertaken within the framework of the SRC but Knut has insisted on first dealing with the 1997 agreement.”

SRC has consistently argued that the salaries and allowances of all public servants need to be harmonised.

“It is on the basis of this that the implementation of the Legal Notice 543 of 1997 becomes problematic,” said Mr Lengoiboni. He, however, said that even under the framework offered by SRC guidelines, teachers would enjoy better perks.

Education Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi also said the government was ready for a fresh round of talks with Knut.

“Just like the President appealed to the unions last week, I urge Knut to come and talk with us. It is good news that some of the teachers have resumed duty,” Prof Kaimenyi said.

Knut chairman Wilson Sossion and other union officials met Labour Secretary Kazungu Kambi at the weekend in what was viewed as a softening of the hardline positions the two parties had earlier adopted before their talks collapsed last week.

But as of Sunday, Mr Sossion said there was no deal reached with the government, and asked teachers to continue staying away from classrooms.

“Until we reach a deal, that’s when the union shall advise members to return to work. We are not slaves to keep offering our services for free,” Mr Sossion said.

He also noted that the weekend meeting with Mr Kambi did not yield much although the Cabinet Secretary had told the Nation that both parties had ceded considerable grounds.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) called off its strike last week and is set to start negotiations with the TSC on Monday.

Kuppet chairman Omboko Milemba said the union’s members will enjoy increased commuter, responsibility and special schools allowances after the talks.

The teachers’ strike has crippled learning in public schools with headteachers from both primary and secondary schools warning of a drop in performance in this year’s national examinations if a solution is not found to end the strike soon.

Other non-academic activities of the school calendar such as sports and music festivals have also been disrupted.

This has led two parents lobby groups to ask for an extension of the school term to recover the time lost.

The parents led by Mr Nathan Baraza and Mr Musau Ndunda have also threatened to sue the government and the teachers unions for breaching children’s right to education.

“The strike has had far-reaching effects on learners including loss of academic hours. Both parties – the government and the teachers unions – should remember that parents have paid school fees,” Mr Ndunda of the National Parents Association said last week.