- Knut is pushing for a 60 percent pay rise while Kuppet is demanding a 42 percent increase.
- The two unions are said to have met TSC bosses in Nakuru last week in initial talks.
Image: FILE
Teachers' unions have initiated talks with their employers in a fresh push for enhanced salaries and allowances.
The unions want the Teachers Service Commission to review the current 2021-202 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to allow for an increase in their pay.
Two leading teachers' unions-the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet)-have already separately met with TSC to begin talks.
The two unions met TSC bosses in Nakuru last week in initial talks where, according to officials, they tabled their proposals.
Details from the two private talks show that Knut is pushing for a 60 per cent pay rise while Kuppet is demanding a 42 per cent increase.
The current CBA signed between the two unions and TSC in 2021 did not have a monetary component.
This was occasioned by lack of funds by the government following the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the country in 2020.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu and Kuppet National Deputy Treasurer Ronald Tonui said teachers are facing tough economic times.
They argued that the employer had failed to increase their salaries in the past seven years despite the raging inflation and high cost of living.
"We sat as the Knut National Steering Council and agreed to push for a 60 percent salary increase for teachers," Oyuu said.
He spoke in Bomet County on Sunday after a meeting with 32 branches countrywide during the Bomet Knut branch's annual general meeting.
Oyuu said the 2021-25 CBA was not cast in stone and was open to reviewing by both parties owing to the tough economic times teachers are facing.
"We have commenced discussions with the TSC on the review of the 2021-2025 CBA, which was non-monetary, and we are confident that we will reach an agreement that is workable for all parties," Oyuu said.
Under his leadership, he said, Knut would not encourage strikes to press for salary increases as had happened in the past.
"What teachers need is to be treated with dignity, to have their issues addressed by the employer and stakeholders. As a union, we cannot ask teachers to demonstrate on the streets when their issues can be dealt with diplomatically and amicably by the employer and the unions," said Oyuu.
In the 2023/2024 Budget Policy Statement, the TSC has been allocated Sh322 billion.