By Roy Hezron
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has urged Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) to remain patient regarding the new 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In a recent communication to the union regarding the CBA, the commission assured the union that the matter will be concluded within a reasonable timeframe.
This gives hope to over 120, 000 teachers who are members of the union.
The union has recently urged the employer to fast-truck the conclusion of the new CBA and table a counter offer as the current one is coming to an end June this year.
The union has grown inpatient after it was assured by the Commission that the new CBA which is expected to run the next four years from 2021-2025 would be concluded in May 2021 during a recent retreat the union officials held with the employer in March this year in Naivasha.
Kuppet submitted its first proposals on the new CBA on September 6, 2018 where it proposed a 70 per cent salary increment for classroom teachers and 30 per cent for administrators whereby a first meeting between the union and employer regarding the new CBA was in August 2019.
The union further submitted Final Memorandum of Demands (FMD) on November 12, 2019 where there was a retreat between October 29-October 31 which agreed on the framework of negotiation, and further cleared the path for the Kuppet to give its FMD.
If the new CBA could be adopted as it was proposed by the union, it will see over 120, 000 teachers under the umbrella of the union for the first time getting four new allowances in addition to what they enjoy currently under.
The allowances which include risk, overtime, post-graduate and accommodation allowances will be enjoyed by teachers besides a 70 per cent proposed salary increment for classroom teachers.
SRC recently approved new job descriptions which capture the true work of a classroom teacher after the union submitted them to the employer for re-evaluation.
In the arrangement, if it goes through, teachers will for the first time receive risk allowance which for long time the union has been pushing for, considering the latest development in the teaching service where teachers have been for several cases attacked by leaners and terrorists, being exposed to Covid-19 pandemic, and exposure of Science teachers during laboratory practical lessons.
In the proposed CBA, Science teachers will enjoy an allowance of 20 per cent of their basic salaries while the lowest earning teacher at Grade C2 will take home Sh5, 465 while the highest in the same grade will earn Sh8, 739.
Additionally, teachers will get for the first time Overtime allowance which will cater for any duty undertaken in school past the scheduled time, which the CBA proposes that it be tabulated per hour up to an average of two hours on the maximum.
In addition, teachers assigned duties out of station will now claim accommodation allowance (Per Diem) which will be classified into three clusters, with first cluster including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kilifi, Naivasha, Lamu and Kwale; cluster two including Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kericho, Kakamega, Embu, Garissa and Bungoma; and cluster three which will include other areas and towns.
Even in the current allowances, KUPPET is pushing for enhanced allowances for teachers notably on leave, hardship, commuter, house, special school, readers or facilitation, and daily subsistence allowances.
