Teachers will not accept pay cut, union says

Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has indicated that its members will not accept pay cut.

“We would like to register our displeasure with the President’s unilateral reduction of his salary as announced on Friday. The pay-cut, which will also affect Cabinet Secretaries, is a side-show meant to divert attention from the government’s inability to manage the economy to the satisfaction of all Kenyans,” said Kuppet national chairman Omboko Milemba.

He said: “The National Treasury and the Auditor General have repeatedly established, Kenya loses Sh300 billion annually to corruption. Any government effort to redress this staggering black hole would save Kenyans massive resources and increase the government’s capacity to provide services. We believe that is where the President’s action is most needed”.

Mr Milemba said reducing the salary of the President, the Deputy President, Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries by the figures announced would save the country only Sh100 million a year.

“By any stretch of imagination, the saving we would make from these pay cuts is a drop in the ocean compared to what a robust anti-corruption effort would earn us,” he said.

Mr Milemba added that the President’s action was illegal and would only perpetuate the culture of impunity.

“As the High Court ruled last month, only one institution in this country has the power to determine the pay of public officers, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. Only the Commission has power to increase, reduce or rationalise salary and allowances of public servants, including of the President and Cabinet Secretaries. Even if the President’s action was sound, it needed to be legal,” he said.

Mr Milemba observed that the President’s announcement was made to set the stage for a campaign to reduce the pay of public servants.

“We have heard that tomorrow’s meeting by SRC is part of this plan. That would explain the reason for SRC’s silence amid flagrant usurpation of its power by the executive branch,” he said.

Mr Milemba noted that Kuppet will fight attempts to reduce the salary of not only its members, but of all public servants saying that this is not the time to reduce salaries.

He observed that the cost of living is at an all time high, with consumer prices rising each day and with official government figures indicate that inflation has risen steadily since last year.

“Instead of playing politics with the salary issue, the President should try harder to find long term solutions to the country’s economic underperformance,” he said.

Meanwhile the Union of Kenya clinical officers also said that they will not take pay cut and instead want the government to pay them more.

“As members we are asking for better working terms. Unless an individual member decides that he want a pay cut as a union we see this as political in nature,” said the union chairman George Kibore.