You are not sincere about teachers’ new salaries, State told

What you need to know:

  • Unions say the government had created a false impression that the money would be paid at once.

Teachers’ unions have accused the government of lying over the payment of the Sh17 billion pay rise awarded to their members.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) on Friday said the State had created a false impression that the money would be paid at once.

Knut national Chairman Mudzo Nzili sought to put the record straight. He said the money would be paid in four instalments.

According to him, the government only requires to pay Sh1.4 billion this year in the first instalment and not Sh17 billion as claimed by the Teachers Service Commission.

Mr Nzili said the money is part of the collective bargaining agreement approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission on July 4, 2012.

“The public is being hoodwinked that teachers want the Sh17 billion pay rise at once. Teachers are not that gluttonous to demand for the whole amount,” said Mr Nzili in Kisumu on Friday.

The union officials are on a nationwide tour to rally teachers for the strike that was declared on Wednesday.

However, Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has declared it illegal.

The commission had indicated that it was ready to pay teachers’ allowances to the tune of Sh9.3 billion under the agreement. But the court temporarily stopped the plan and ordered the employer to pay salaries as the case continues. The hearing is scheduled for September 22.

“The government has not shown willingness to pay up. If it is willing, then  it does not require a supplementary budget,” said Mr Nzili.

Kuppet Kisumu branch Chairman Zablon Awange said the amount is a monthly wage bill, which the government can pay.

“It is the logic that the three courts used to approve the 50-60 per cent pay rise in four phases, bearing in mind that it was the initial offer made by the commission when teachers  demanded a 300 per cent rise,” he said.

Mr Nzili said the salaries commission  had directed all employers to negotiate their collective bargaining agreements within the framework of the law. He said the money would have been paid in four years from July 2013, to July 2017.

The highest paid teacher would have taken home a 12.5 per cent increase, while the lowest paid would get 15 per cent every year.

Separately, Mr Francis Wangara, the national Secretary-General of the Kenya Union of Sugarcane plantations and Allied Workers Union, asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene.

“We are concerned that the President has taken a back seat on this critical matter. We want to know what solution he has for teachers,” he said.