The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has come out to defend the proposed 60 percent salary increase for teachers in the ongoing study to review the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In a statement to the media at the induction meeting of 110 union branch executive secretaries at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) in Nairobi on October 17, 2022, Secretary General Collins Henry Oyuu said despite not signing the CBA, the monetary component, because it’s a review clause, it’s not an invitation to proceed further.
Oyuu confirmed that they have filed a proposal with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to challenge the union and offer it’s views on our proposal.
“When we were here as KNUT, we presented a proposal based on a 60 percent salary increase for our teachers. I don’t know what will be received, but we implemented it. If the TSC accepts our proposal, they must also submit a counter proposal; That’s how the bargaining goes, ” he said.
He added: “we can’t just sit and wait. We have submitted an offer and we are waiting for TSC to come out in the open and make a counter offer.”
Oyuu said that the last salary of the teachers was reviewed in the financial year 2016-2017 and it was the same for 6 years from July 1, 2016 to date; which is not provided compensation for the increase in the cost of living.
According to KNUT data, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) statistics show that the annual inflation rate was 9.2 percent at the end of September 2022 and is expected to be 10 percent at the end of October 2022; because teachers do not get paid for 6 years of compensation; it is fair to extrapolate the annual rate of inflation over 6 years, which is 60 percent.
If the offer is accepted, the highest paid teacher in grade D5 will take home Ksh. 252,249.6 per month from now Ksh. 157,656; The lowest in class B5 will pocket Ksh. 43,512 from now Ksh. 27, 195.
If the 60% proposal for teachers will be accepted then the highest per CATEGORY grade teacher will be earning as follows per month:
Grade D5 from 157,656 to 252,249.6
Grade D4 from 121,890 to 195,024
Grade D3 from 104,644 to 167,430.4
Grade D2 from 91,041 to 145.665.6
Grade D1 from 85,269 to 136,430.4
Grade C5 from 64,631 to 103.409.6
Grade C4 from 52,308 to 83,692.8
Grade C3 from 53,943 to 86,308.8
Grade C2 from 43,694 to 69,910.4
Grade C1 from 33,694 to 53,910.4
Grade B5 from 27,195 to 43,512
