KUNOPPET win big for ECDE teachers in three counties

Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers in Taita Taveta, Meru, and Murang’a counties will now start enjoying enhanced salaries and allowances as per the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) guidelines after the Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (KUNOPPET) made milestone achievements through Secretary General Samuel Opiyo.

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In Taita Taveta, a number of teachers who had not been converted to permanent and pensionable terms and earning as low salary as Ksh14,000 irrespective of their academic qualifications, will now be issued with employment letters with the County Public Service Board and start receiving enhanced salaries as per the SRC Circular of August 10, 2023.

The teachers will also receive their salary arrears within six months effective from September 2025, with Opiyo thanking Taita Taveta County Government for showing goodwill in settling the dispute amicably through a series of dialogue.

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“The salaries that this teachers have been earning has not been their appropriate salary and the effect of this agreement is that they will be paid the salary difference, that is, the difference between the salary advised by SRC and the 14,000 they have been earning, and their arrears will be paid within six months from September this year,” said Opiyo when addressed the media outside Taita Taveta County Government offices in Voi on July 18, 2025.

In Meru and Murang’a Counties, the teachers will start enjoying hefty perks after KUNOPPET won the court cases filed in the Employment and Labour Relations Courts (ELRC) in Meru and Nyeri where they had sued the two counties for underpaying the teachers. In both cases, the teachers were represented in court by Opiyo.

“The respondents be and are hereby ordered to fully implement the SRC advice conveyed vide the letter Ref: NO. SRC/TS/29/81 dated 10th August 2023 by paying the ECDE teachers the salaries and allowances as per the structure therein. The respondents are further ordered to pay the grievant salary arrears, if any, that have accrued from the effective date,” read one of the judgment.

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According to SRC Circular dated August 10, 2023, ECDE teachers who are Certificate holders, and who are placed in Job Group G are supposed to get between Ksh.23,700  to Kshs.31,450, diploma holders who are placed in Job Group H are supposed to be on a salary scale of Kshs.26,900 –35,380, while degree holders who are in Job Group K need to earn a basic salary of between Kshs.39,700 – 52,960.

House allowance and commuter allowance for certificate (JG G) is Kshs.3,850 and 4000, for diploma (JG H) Kshs.5,000 and Kshs.4,000 and for degree (JG K) Kshs.8,133 and 5,000 respectively. Accordingly, the gross pay for certificate (JG G) is Kshs.34,450 – 42200, diploma (JGH) Kshs.46700 – 56,690 and degree (JG K) Kshs.61,200 – 74,460.

In Meru County, the teachers were receiving a basic salary of Kshs.10,380 which later increased to Kshs.19,220, housing and commuter allowances of Kshs.2,750 and Kshs.3,000 respectively, totaling to Kshs.24,970 across all the academic qualifications.

By Roy Hezron