Teachers oppose perks review
What you need to know:
- Wilson Sossion said it was unacceptable for the commission to review their allowances without consultation.
- The TSC awarded teachers leave allowance of between Sh4,000 and Sh10,000 a year, which is less than the one-month salary leave allowance their union is demanding.
Teachers have warned of industrial action in protest against a decision by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to lower their allowances.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Wilson Sossion said it was unacceptable for the commission to review their allowances without consultation.
“As we talk, we have no responsibility, commuter, medical and special school allowances. We fought for these allowances and no one can take them away from us,” Mr Sossion told the Nation.
According to the SRC, commuter allowance rates payable to teachers should be reviewed and harmonised across the civil servant to minimise disparities.
The allowance, the SRC said last week, is paid to cater for the transport expenses to and from work. The teachers were awarded the allowance this year after a protracted struggle with the government.
They have been getting commuter allowance of between Sh4,000 to Sh16,000 for job group G and R respectively since July this year.
SRC has also recommended the review of responsibility allowance which it wants harmonised and consolidated into basic pay for easy determination.
The allowance is paid to teachers who have been given an administrative duty, and as a result do not teach and depends on whether a school is day or boarding.
It also varies according to the number of streams for day schools and batches of 60 for boarding schools.
FLAT RATE
SRC also recommended that special school allowance be paid as a flat rate based on job group and not a percentage of the basic pay.
“Medical allowance does not make sense in the lens of universal access to healthcare. This allowance should be restructured and replaced with provision of a medical insurance scheme to cover all teachers,” said the Sarah Serem-led SRC.
All teachers are eligible to medical allowance at Sh767 to Sh4,412 monthly, depending on job group.
The Teachers Service Commission has offered a comprehensive medical scheme to all teachers after last month’s negotiations.
It however, awarded teachers leave allowance of between Sh4,000 and Sh10,000 a year, which is less than the one-month salary leave allowance their union is demanding.
