By Roy Hezron
Teachers’ Unions are pilling pressure on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to review the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to take into consideration teachers who were disadvantaged in the deal.
In a presentation to the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Research of the National Assembly on March 2, 2022, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) stated that in anticipation of the new CBA round under the third Public Sector Remuneration and Benefits Review Cycle, they presented their final Memorandum of demands to TSC in 2019 addressing many of the challenges caused by Career Progression Guideline (CPG) within the previous CBA implementation.
The union, which was making its submission on a petition regarding refusal by TSC to acknowledge undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate qualifications attained by in service teachers from recognized universities presented by nominated MP Hon. Wilson Sossion on February 7, 2022, noted that most of the challenges emanated from the reclassification of schools under the Basic Education Act and the formal realignment of staff establishment with enrolment.
KUPPET argued that some teachers’ cadres were left out in the vertical progression during the transition to the CPGs on the effective date. Amongst the left teachers were thousands of suitably qualified P1 teachers who had acquired Bachelor of Education degrees in Secondary Schools. By the end of the 2016 CBA, the Commission had redeployed only 2,000 of such teachers.
The union recommended that the redeployment should continue until the numbers are fully addressed, though TSC blames low budgets for slow promotions, a position that KUPPET rejects.
Teachers previously in the previous Job Group L who had no responsibility in the schools such as being Principals, Deputy Principals or Heads of Departments (HODs) were converted to C3 while their compatriots with responsibilities rose to D1.
In their submission, KUPPET reveals that they piled pressure on the Commission resulting in the opening of C4 for Senior Master IV and Senior Lecturer IV for those in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs).
They argued that only about 7,000 such vacancies have been filled while thousands of teachers qualify for the grade.
In their report, KUPPET demanded institutionalization of C4 as a promotional Grade from C3.
The union identified the career path for Diploma teachers who joined service at Job Group J and had obtained Bachelors of Education degrees by the commencement of the 2016 CBA as a challenge.
It argued that most of the teachers had transited to the graduate scheme of service and been promoted to the next Job Group; that is, Job Group K or L under the common cadre promotions.
KUPPET observes that some teachers who had served in one Job Group for less than three years missed on promotions following the scrapping of one common cadre promotional level; with the affected teachers all being promoted after the union took up the matter.
Additionally, Principals and other administrators in TTCs have a clear career path based on the CPGs with substantive appointments as Deans, Registrars and other departmental heads; while at the same time many have their promotions delayed on the same excuse of poor funding.
Among the demands the union presented in 2019 under their Memorandum of demands was creation of a career path for teachers without administrative responsibilities in their institutions to expand opportunities for promotion for experienced teachers; and such path should take into account academic and co-curricular performance.
Another key demand was the introduction of three special allowances (the post graduate allowance for teachers who possess Master’s and PhD degrees, township allowance for teachers in county headquarters and other municipalities and risk allowance where TSC presented its request for the allowances to Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for review.
Similarly, the union also noted that P1 teachers who have attained Diploma and Bachelors of Education degrees who are even more in numbers should be awarded a higher qualification allowance rather than waiting for administrative vacancies to arise for them.
The Union recommends in their submission that Parliament should direct the TSC to create policies governing in-service training for teachers, ensure the allocation of funds for promotion of all teachers in line with the CPG and direct the TSC to reopen talks on the non-monetary 2021-2025 CBA for teachers to unlock their long overdue salary review and promotions.
Their counterpart Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) notes that the economy, which was the reason for the SRCs advisory of freezing salary increment in public service, is now improving.
While addressing the union’s members during their one year anniversary on June 28, 2022, KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu noted that other sectors have reviewed salaries for their workers hence teachers’ salaries also need to be looked into.
“We signed this CBA on July 1, 2021 very much aware of the advice by the SRC that had stopped salary increments in the CBAs in the public sector for two years. However, we had agreed that the CBA was a live document and that we would review it after one Financial Year, that is, by July 2023,” said Oyuu.
Oyuu noted that parliament set aside the SRC advisory and the legal notice withdrawn and government has since allocated some money to TSC for salary increment.
“We are already engaging the Commission on the need to repeal the advisory so as to have the monetary aspect included. Teachers may not eat relationships and peace; they need money so as to be able to address the current inflation,” he added.
