Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) have ended their stalemate after signing a new 2021 - 2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In a statement released on Tuesday, July 13, the KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu noted that they had signed a non-monetary agreement with basic pay review expected in a year's time
Maternity extension was among the gains touted in the new deal.
"Indeed, today is a historic day for all teachers in this republic. We have come out of this day having signed a CBA with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
"I would like to tell our teachers that hope is still there. We have room to sit with TSC in a review process. Apart from the monetary gains that are not perceived to be there, we have quantified quite a number of gains with TSC in the said CBA."
"It is known to them as it is known to us that we must review this basic factor on the salary increment," Oyuu stated.
The event, which was held at Safari Park Hotel, included attendees from Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).
TSC officials who attended the event had earlier confirmed that they expected that the commission would sign the CBA with the unions before the end of the day.
This comes after years of stalemate between KNUT and the commission over lack of pay rise for some of the long-serving tutors among a myriad of financial challenges.
In a statement issued on Sunday, July 11, the newly elected KNUT Secretary-General Collins Oyuu had intimated that teachers were set to miss out on a pay rise for the next two financial years.
He noted that the union was willing to seal an agreement with the Teachers Service Commission on a two-year CBA that captures all other aspects of terms and later sign a different CBA on financial gains.
“Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has suspended the review of salaries and teachers are not exceptional, but must agree with the TSC that teachers’ salaries will be reviewed immediately after the lapse of the suspension period depending on the country’s economic performance,” Oyuu added.
The unionist was pushing teachers to agree to the CBA on the condition that the suspension of salary increment will only last for two years.
In another agreement on Wednesday, July 7, some 16,000 teachers were slated to get salary increments and promotions.
That was after agreed to drop all cases against the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in a bid to mend bridges between the two.
