By Malachi Motano
Public Schools might fail to reopen next term as indicated in the education calendar and the form one students might also not report in the schools after the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) and the teacher unions failed to come to a consensus.
The unions which include Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) rejected the TSC counter offer for the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), saying it has no monetary benefits for teachers.
“TSC came with a very surprising offer on the table, the proposal was very strong on maternity and paternity leave. but will this bring food to the table?” wondered KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu.
The new Knut secretary general said the proposal had nothing for teachers in terms of remuneration apart from extending maternity leave to 120 days and paternity leave to 21 days.
KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori said time was ripe for the commission to review teachers’ salaries, adding they have also been subjected to the negative effects of the economy.
“KUPPET is reluctant to entertain a CBA with no monetary benefits. TSC must put its house in order and within the next 7 days bring a counter offer which is acceptable,” added Misori.
Meanwhile, TSC urged teachers to accept the offer, citing the economic situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, they only put on the table what was available. She also implored the unions to consider that teachers last year received full salaries even while at home, as opposed to other sectors which downsized or subjected their employees to salary cuts.
“We can’t give what we don’t have,” she said.
KNUT’s proposal was 200 per cent while KUPPET had proposed 30-70 percent salary increment.
The unions including Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) made the declaration after a 4-hour meeting that had been convened by TSC, at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel.
They made the declaration after a 4-hour meeting that had been convened by TSC, at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel.
