Staff working under the Human Resource Management and Development directorate at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will now be required to work day and night and over the weekends without monetary compensation.
In an internal memo dated May 5, 2023 signed by the HRMD Director Dr. Julius Olayo and copied to the Commission Secretary Dr. Nancy Macharia and Director Administration Services, all the staff working under the directorate have been instructed to choose the preferred shifts, and have the data and preference compiled and submitted by their respective Unit Heads in a new work arrangement introduced on May 8, 2023.
“In an effort to undertake and timely complete priority assignment arising out of the recent recruitment of teachers, deployment of primary school teachers to JSS and pending 2022 exists among others during this payroll month, all officers are called upon to adopt the following work arrangement…during the night shift, tea and snacks will be provided,” reads the memo in part.
According to the memo, there will be a shift arrangement of day and night effective May 8, 2023 until further notice during the weekdays. The day shift will start from 6:00 a.m in the morning to 6:00 p.m in the evening while the night shift will run from 7:00 p.m to 6:00 a.m.
For weekends, the work arrangements commenced on May 6, 2023; with the working hours running from 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m.
“All officers working under the day shift arrangement will also report for duty either on a Saturday or Sunday,” adds the memo.
However, there will be no monetary value incentives with officers being only awarded between one to two days off duty days depending on the shift option. For day shift of 5 working days an officer will be allowed one day off duty, while night shift of 5 days will be allowed a two day off duty; with weekends being allowed only one day off duty.
However, the Commission has instructed that the off days will be taken at later dates after completion of the tasks, with Divisional Supervisors and Unit Heads being instructed to ensure that the tasks involving processing of the 2022 exits are cleared by May 31, 2023.
“The respective Divisional Supervisors and Unit Heads have been assigned specific targets which must be attained before the closure of payroll and will be accountable on the same at the end of the task. This work arrangement is binding to all,” directed Dr. Olayo in the memo.
The working arrangements are coming at a time when the Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers are decrying lack of salary payments since January, with a number of its field officers in particular Sub-County Directors and Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) working under a rigid work environment including being assigned duties with no facilitation and further working on weekends.
Early this month, the Commission noted that it had already processed 50 per cent of the salaries set to be paid to the newly employed 35,550 JSS teachers shifting the blame on the delayed reporting by some of the teachers to their respective stations.
The Commission advised teachers to confirm the payments with their respective banks, promising to effect all salaries this May.
By Our reporter
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