Kuppet cancels strike push on pledge of talks

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori addresses a press briefing on budget cuts in the education sector, in Nairobi, on May 14, 2025. [David Gichuru, Standard]

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has suspended a strike notice issued last month after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) called for talks on Wednesday.

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori announced that the TSC has agreed to begin negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to increase the teachers’ salaries.

“We have withdrawn the strike notice because the employer has officially invited us for salary review talks this week on Wednesday, July 2,” said Akelo.

Speaking in an interview with The Standard after the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association meeting in Mombasa, which was attended by over 7000 principals drawn from every part of the country, Misori said he expects that during the talks with TSC, the demands they submitted on October 30, 2024, will address salary increments of between 30 and 70 per cent.

Misori said the economic hardship facing teachers was severe and  the union anticipated positive financial outcomes for its members following the discussion.

The Kuppet SG said that one change members want TSC to implement is reducing the CBA cycle from four years to two years due to the rapid shifts in the country’s economic conditions.

“The union wants a reduction of the CBA cycle from four years to two years and a 100 per cent increase on selected allowances,” said Akelo.

The unionists argued that teachers in Nairobi are struggling due to the high cost of living, as many of them cannot afford housing allowances and travel expenses.

“A teacher in Kenya High School in Nairobi cannot afford to live in the houses in the surroundings of the school because it is beyond their imagination, forcing them to live far, where they spend almost their salary on transport,” said Akelo.

He said, during the negotiation, they will ask the TSC to review the career progression guidelines to pave the way for automatic promotions up to the level of deputy principal.

“Our key demand as Kuppet for the new CBA round is the clearance of the backlog in promotion for 130,000 teachers who have qualified and been shortlisted in the 2023/2024 financial year,” said Akelo.

He said while most teachers range from C3 to C5, some principals in D2 remain unconfirmed.

Akelo regretted that some principals had remained in D3 for more than three years, despite having expanded their schools from sub-country status and now being eligible for D4.

The union leader requested TSC to advertise vacant positions for chief principals.