Fat pay deal in the offing for teachers, lecturers

From left,Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers(KUPPET) Chairman Omboko Milemba, KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori and KUPPET National Treasurer Mwethi Njenga join hands during a press briefing.

Teachers and lecturers are starting a new week with good news on salary and allowances deals that will improve industrial harmony in the education sector. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will host the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) in Naivasha to polish the new salary agreement for its 315,000 staff.

The meeting will be a major win for all teachers and Kuppet, which now boasts a total membership of 125,00 teachers.

And at the universities, the 9,000 teaching staff will tomorrow sign a Sh10 billion salary contract with vice chancellors for the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The lecturers’ deal will be the culmination of back and forth meetings between University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) and the joint negotiations committee of the Inter Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).

“A joint technical committee of the joint negotiations committee is drafting the CBA, which shall be signed on Monday,” Constantine Wasonga, Uasu Secretary General said.

This means the lecturers will enjoy backdated salaries to cover two years they missed out on the new pay adjustments. Preliminary data shows that under the proposed deal, professors who earn a minimum salary of Sh170,681 per month will have their pay increased to Sh209,693 at the end of the 2021-25 CBA.

Associate professors’ who presently earn Sh112,038 will take home Sh144,450 in the final year of CBA.

Senior lecturers who earn Sh112,038 will have their salaries increased to a maximum of Sh144,450 for the next four years. Lecturers will get a pay rise of up to Sh4,919 per year.

Assistant lecturers/tutorial fellows will have their pay go up by Sh5,392. Graduate assistants’ pay will also be increased annually by between Sh2,687 and Sh3,893. And for teachers, the four-day retreat in Naivasha is set to end with the two parties signing a CBA to cover teachers’ salaries and allowances once the current contract expires next year.

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori (pictured) and Chairman Omboko Milemba were yesterday upbeat ahead of the meeting. “Kuppet is now the voice of all teachers and we promise to negotiate better terms for all the teachers in the country,” the officials said in a joint statement. A draft CBA to be discussed between TSC and Kuppet and seen by the Sunday Standard lists a raft of benefits, including hefty salary and allowances proposals.

In the proposed deal, Kuppet is pushing for a 30-70 per cent salary increment and harmonisation of some allowances. In addition to this, the union is introducing a host of new allowances that it plans to discuss with the employer this week. This means the lowest paid teachers (Grade C2) earning minimum salary bands of between Sh34,955 and Sh43,694 will have their pay increased to between Sh59,425 and Sh74,280.

Career progression

Highest paid teachers (Grade D4) earning minimum salary bands of between Sh118,242 and Sh141,891 will have their new pay adjusted to between Sh153,715 and Sh184,458 per month. In return, if the deal is signed as stated, Kuppet agrees that career progression in the teaching service shall be implemented as provided for in the Code of Regulations for Teachers. “The Commission in performance of its obligation under this agreement shall ensure that every teacher under its employment is facilitated to undergo career progression,” reads the draft CBA.

The union also accepts the full implementation of the performance management tools. Kuppet agrees that the employer shall undertake annual performance appraisal of all teachers in its employment.

“...parties hereby agree to implement continuous professional development and performance appraisal mechanism,” reads the draft CBA.

On allowances, Kuppet wants the current commuter allowance rate reviewed upwards by between 30 and 70 per cent of the current pay.

This means the current rates of between Sh5,000 and Sh16,000 across job groups will be raised to between Sh8,500 and Sh20,800 per month.

House allowance will be harmonised across all grades with a town allowance to all teachers in urban areas.

The harmonised pay will range between Sh16,500 for lowest paid teachers to Sh45,000 for highest earners. Township allowances for Nairobi and county headquarters have also been proposed to range between Sh4,000 and Sh8,000 per month.

Kuppet is also pushing for a hardship allowance payable to teachers assigned duties in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) with an increment of 50 per cent from the current rates. The allowances presently range from Sh10,900 to Sh38,100 but will now move up to between Sh16,350 and Sh57,150.