By AUGUSTINE ODUOR
The Government has bowed to pressure from teachers and agreed to rescind the contentious directive to scrap hardship allowances.
Teachers whose benefits were withdrawn by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will have them reinstated in two weeks. A meeting between the teacher employer and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) yesterday also resolved to ask the State to release teachers’ promotion funds.
Knut national chairman Wilson Sossion said they were in agreement that all affected teachers get back the allowances on their payroll. “We have a common agreement with TSC that hardship allowance be returned and that the commission has two weeks to make the necessary corrections,” he said.
Knut and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers had called a nationwide strike over the withdrawal of the hardship allowance by TSC. Knut was represented by the union steering committee.
Commission secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni said they had broken ‘enough ground’ in yesterday’s meeting and noted that a solution would be found soon. “We had a productive meeting and we shall let you know the details soon,” he said.
