KNUT, KUPPET and TSC register Sh54 billion salary agreement with courts

 

Teachers Service Commission top officials led by its CEO Nancy Macharia ( left ) and Chairperson Dr Lydia Nzomo ( right ) with KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion after they appeared before House Committee on Delegated Legislation at Parliament Buildings in the past. PHOTO: FILE

NAIROBI: Teachers have officially registered the Sh54 billion new salary deal with the courts.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has been filed by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.

"This is a requirement under Section 60 of the Labour Relations Act (2007), in readiness for implementation," said Macharia.

She said the Commission is currently working on the implementation modalities and details of benefits to individual teachers.

"The details will be communicated in a circular in early 2017," she said.

Details of the CBA indicate that the total cost of implementation the CBA will be Sh54 billion in addition to the current teachers wage bill of Sh186 billion.

The deal was signed between TSC and Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) on October 25 and 26 respectively.

Under the new deal, the lowest paid primary teacher will earn Sh27, 195 up from 21, 756.

And the lowest paid secondary teachers will have their salary increased to Sh34, 955 up from the current Sh31, 020.

The new salary deal also overhauled the current grading system and capped the overall salary of the highest paid teacher at Sh157, 656.

Currently, the highest paid teacher earns Sh109, 089 with a maximum pay of Sh144, 928 per month.

"A new expanded grading structure based on the worth of each job has been adopted with the following grades B5, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5.   Previously teachers were graded from Job Group G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, and R," said Macharia.

She said the current Job Groups P, Q, and R have been expanded to the new grades of D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5.

"The lowest grade in the teaching service Job Group "G" has been scrapped and grade B5, which has an enhanced salary entry point introduced.  This will affect more than 100,000 teachers in Job Group G," she said.

The deal means that nearly all head teachers in the 23,000 primary schools, their deputies and senior teachers will smile all the way to the bank as the new deal automatically moves them to a new grading system and elevates their remuneration brackets.

In total, about 200,000 teachers will benefit from the scrapping of P1 and elevation of all primary heads.