The Teachers Service Commission- TSC will have to pay teachers’ July salaries with a 7 percent salary increment but without the 1.5 percent housing fund deduction due to a court case.
The High Court Judge Mugure Thande declined to set aside orders suspending the Finance Act 2023 on July 12, 2023, retaining the petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and others.
The deduction was projected to begin July 1, 2023, as enshrined in the recent Finance Act 2023.
The judge ruled that the petitioners (Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and others) have proved that they have a case adding that if the orders were to be lifted, the public stands to suffer.
The judge further directed that the file be forwarded to Chief Justice Martha Koome to appoint a three-judge bench to hear and determine the matter.
Announcing the salary increment of between 7 percent to 10 percent for teachers and civil servants, President William Ruto said it was meant to cushion public servants from the harsh economic times.
“I know there is a proposal by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to increase the salaries of different cadres of civil servants and other public servants.
So our teachers, policemen, military space, and those working in government, we have agreed that from tomorrow your salaries will be adjusted between 7 and 10 percent,” Ruto said
He was speaking during the launch of the new e-citizen platform at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on June 30, 2023.
In the first financial year (2023-2024) teachers will get a salary increment of 7 percent then in the second year (2024-2025) will go to 8 percent the third year (2025-2026) to 9 percent and the final year (2026-2027) will be 10 per cent.
The latest order from the Court will bar TSC from deducting the 1.5 percent from teachers’ pay slips to go toward the Housing Fund.
Besides the benefit of enhanced net pay, teachers will also have improved borrowing power when taking check-off loans.
The National Treasury already released a total of Ksh9.1 billion to TSC that will be used to implement the July pay rise plan for over 350,000 teachers and secretariat staff on the PnP payroll.
By Thuita Jaswant
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