The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General, Collins Oyuu, has disclosed that his members have secured a major financial breakthrough following the signing of a fresh Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which will see salary increases of up to 29.5 per cent.
Oyuu said the 2025–2029 CBA, inked during a closed-door meeting at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), introduces both monetary and non-monetary gains.
He hailed the deal as a significant win, particularly for teachers in the lower job grades.
For the first time since 2021–2025, he said that cashless CBA under the new agreement provides monetary value.
Lower cadre teachers benefit most
He said Teachers in job Grades B5 to C3, who fall within the lower cadre, will receive the largest increase of up to 29.5 per cent.
And those in Grades C4 to D5, the higher cadre, he said, will see a modest but still meaningful rise of about 12 per cent.
The union, he said, also scored a win in retaining all previously gazetted hardship areas in the new CBA.
He added that the union was now pushing for more regions to be officially recognised as hardship zones, allowing affected teachers to enjoy related allowances.
Regarding non-monetary gains, the SG revealed that teachers nearing retirement will now be entitled to pension payments based on their years of service—a longstanding grievance the union has consistently raised.
“Previously, if a teacher was dismissed even at 59 years and 10 months, they went home empty-handed. But we agreed that such teachers will now receive pension benefits proportional to their service. Your years of honest service should not be nullified by a single incident toward the end of your career,” he said.
A review of the allowances, he added, was not conducted due to the ongoing development of the Teachers Code of Regulations, and the matter shall be revisited once the exercise is concluded.
“We had put on the table an increase of 60 per cent, but TSC said they could not proceed without the code of Regulations in place,” he said.
The KNUT boss expressed optimism about future gains once the TSC Amendment Bill currently with the Attorney General is passed into law.
The bill, he said, proposes a review of the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT), which is expected to unlock additional non-monetary benefits in the 2029–2032 CBA cycle.
Oyuu further revealed that discussions were underway to introduce a group life insurance scheme for teachers, a benefit already extended to other civil servants but conspicuously missing in the current teachers’ comprehensive medical cover.
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“Right now, teachers only benefit from a last-expense cover for funeral costs. That’s not enough. We are working with the TSC and the National Treasury to roll out a proper group life policy,” he stated.
The agreement, he said, was set to be registered with the Employment and Labour Relations Court on Monday, signalling the beginning of a new pay structure for teachers across the country.
By Fredrick Odiero
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