If a teachers’ union push is approved, the lowest-paid teacher could get a Sh14,550 raise, bringing their salary to Sh38,800.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) is requesting that the Teachers Service Commission review the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in order to implement a 60% salary increase for the 300,000-plus teachers.
Prof. George Magoha, Cabinet Secretary for Education, has rejected teachers’ demand for a 60% pay increase, claiming that the government cannot afford it.
In the nine months ended March, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) rejected pay rise requests worth Sh18.83 billion from State agencies, derailing a push by civil servants to increase their takings.
According to SRC, requests for Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) topped the list at Sh17 billion, followed by requests to review allowances and benefits at Sh993.58 million and salaries at Sh993.58 million (Sh630.94 million).
Given that CBAs and allowances have provided workers with a convenient route to higher salaries for years, the decision dimmed prospects for better fortunes for the estimated 954,900 civil servants in difficult economic times.
According to the SRC, which sets public sector wages, the rejections were based on the need to keep the public wage bill at sustainable levels and lower the wage bill to total revenue ratio.
“SRC is determined to set and advise on desired levels of salaries and wages for the public servants in a manner that guarantees fiscal sustainability of the wage bill and compliance with the existing remuneration and benefits regulations,” the commission says.
The commission granted requests totaling Sh1.476 billion, with CBAs totaling Sh453.89 million, salaries totaling Sh586.4 million, and allowances totaling Sh264.87 million.
The names and numbers of the government agencies and parastatals that made the requests were not disclosed by SRC.
This is a decrease from the Sh7.78 billion in requests received by SRC during the same period last year when it approved Sh5 billion in applications.
Treasury has been struggling to rein in the bloated public wage bill, which now consumes more than half of total revenue, impeding development spending.
The wage bill to total revenue ratio was 40.89% in the fiscal year ending June 2021, and SRC expects it to remain above 40% in the fiscal year ending June 2022.
The ratio is significantly higher than the 35% recommended by the Public Finance Management Act.
The public sector wage bill for the fiscal year that ended last month is expected to reach Sh958.5 billion, up from Sh930.5 billion, highlighting the country’s struggles to control spending on salaries and allowances for state employees.
SRC has shifted its focus to lowering allowances, claiming that some perks are already covered by basic pay.
The civil service currently has 247 allowances, but the SRC says that number will fall in the next three months as it abolishes and merges others.
Allowances are being reduced at a time when salaries will remain unchanged until July 2025 under a deal struck between Kenya and the International Monetary Fund to reduce the country’s bloated public wage bill.
A review of allowances will free up an estimated Sh100 billion from the wage bill each year, allowing Kenya to allocate more funds for development projects and pay off the rapidly maturing debt.
Civil servants have not received a pay increase in five years and have turned to enticing perks to increase their take-home pay. The number of allowances increased from 11 in 1999 to 247 today, prompting SRC to make the change.
KNUT in new push for teachers’ salary raise
If the push is approved by the TSC, the highest-paid teachers in Job Group D5 will receive a raise of about Sh89,016.
Teachers in Job Group B1 currently earn a basic salary of Sh24,250.
This could raise teachers’ salaries to Sh237,376 from the current Sh148,360.
Knut also wants the government to pay for refresher training courses for teachers to help them cope with the high cost of living.
Members of Parliament are being asked to approve Sh4.5 billion in funding for teacher refresher courses, according to the union.
The union also wants a review of promotion criteria to benefit tutors with advanced degrees.
Collins Oyuu, Knut secretary general
“Our position as Knut was and continues to be that promotion policy be reviewed to accommodate, motivate and encourage teachers with higher academic qualifications so that their effort doesn’t go to waste,” said Collins Oyuu, Knut secretary general.
Knut made the demands following a three-day consultative meeting with the TSC in Naivasha.
Oyuu stated that they signed the 2021-2025 non-monetary CBA after taking office last year, but due to the high cost of living, the CBA must be reviewed to ensure teachers receive salary increases.
“The inflation rate at the moment doesn’t allow that we hold several boardroom meetings with the employer, government agencies and even friends without mentioning the aspect of a monetary gain. Teachers want money and not stories,” said Oyuu.
On Labour Day, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded all informal workers a 12% salary increase, demonstrating that the economy has improved.
According to Oyuu, the salary demand is more realistic than the proposal made by the previous regime led by Wilson Sossion.
Knut had requested a salary increase of 120 to 200 percent under Sossion.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) had also requested a salary increase of 30-70 percent for the highest-paid workers and the lowest earners.
Accepting the deal
Days after signing the non-monetary CBA, both unions faced harsh criticism from their members for agreeing to the deal.
The CBA only provided for increased maternity leave and more generous transfers to cushion couples.
Both unions, under pressure from their members, called for the resumption of negotiations on the 2021-2025 CBA, claiming that the economy had recovered.
Oyuu, without providing a timeline, stated that the talks must be completed, despite the fact that the union has already begun talks with TSC.
Last week, Oyuu stated that the Naivasha meeting pushed for teachers’ monetary gain. “We cannot stand by and watch as teachers struggle to put food on the table.” We will maintain cordial relations with TSC to ensure that our demands are met.
“We have started the process with the outgoing government and we shall have it finalised by the new government after the August polls,” said Oyuu
The teachers’ union, which now has over 115,000 members, also claims that the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) initiative, which was implemented in 2013, was a good one, but TSC did not invest in educating teachers about its importance, usefulness, and benefits.
According to Oyuu, Knut and TSC agreed that the commission should organize sensitization workshops for all teachers to help them understand TPD and its implementation.
Oyuu stated in refresher training courses that the resistance seen after the TPD program was implemented was caused by a lack of proper sensitization.
Teachers Request The Most Unreasonable
Magoha on Thursday trashed teachers’ request as unreasonable stating that the government is currently focused on establishing classrooms to ensure a smooth transition to asecondary school under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
60 Percent Teachers Payrise Is Unreasonable – Magoha
“As a minister, because I am not responsible for TSC, I can tell you that it is most unreasonable because His Excellency’s government, which I have been grateful to serve, is spending 25.9% of the budget on education as we speak,” said the CS.
“Let us not play stupid politics, there is no way – and you can take this to the bank – the government can give teachers 60 percent.”
Prof. Magoha also claimed Kenya’s education sector is the most well-funded on the continent, but instead proposed reforms to improve teachers’ working conditions in the docket.
“Teachers are of course entitled to increment of salaries but in the whole of this continent there’s no government that is spending more money on education than ours. So perhaps what we should be doing is to ensure we have value for money,” he said.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) demanded a 60% pay increase on Wednesday, which they wanted implemented immediately.
Collins Oyuu, secretary general of the KNUT, cited the high cost of living in advocating for a pay raise for teachers.
“We have commenced a structured negotiation with the employer to see to it that a 60 per cent salary rise is awarded to teachers,” Mr. Oyuu said.
He demanded that the 2021-25 collective bargaining agreement, which was signed with non-monetary benefits, be reviewed.
Non-monetary benefits included extended paid maternity leave for female teachers and the introduction of paternity leave for male teachers in the 2021-25 CBA.
Other issues that the teachers union wants addressed are payments for Teachers Professional Development that are paid for by the teachers, as well as a review of teacher promotion policies.
