How salary tussle between teachers and TSC began

One Wednesday afternoon in September 2014, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) convened a sub-consultative committee meeting on teachers' terms of service.

Pressure was mounting on the Government to make a counter offer to teachers pay demands with a strike threat on unions’ card.

The teachers' employer had previously scheduled several other meetings, which ended in a stalemate.

Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) had made their demand of 300 per cent basic salary increase complete with a raft of allowances.

The bone of contention during the successive meetings was the Government's counter-offer to the union's demands.

Walking into the meeting at 2pm, Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion and his Kuppet counterpart Akelo Misori termed the session 'a make or break.'

After several hours of wait outside TSC head office, the two union officials flanked by their members emerged from the meeting saying the meeting was 'warm and cordial.'

The threats they had issued were no more. The tune had changed. That evening, The Standard exclusively obtained a document that was presented during the meeting.

The document proposed that should teachers be paid 50 -60 per cent salary increase, some Sh50 billion would be required.

The document also proposed a raft of allowances including Sh18 billion annually for leave allowance and Sh10 billion to pay house allowances.

Proposal and not a counter offer

This is the first time reference was made to the secret document. The then TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni later distanced himself from the document and explained that no counter offer was tabled.

Interview with a Government official present at the meeting now puts into perspective how the ghost of 50-60 per cent came to be.

"It is true that the document was presented to the unions. But it was not a counter offer. It was a brief to Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), whose opinion was being sought," said the official.

The official said Sossion and Misori had piled pressure on the TSC to put 'something' on the table.

“The explanation to the unions at the meeting was that this was a working document that TSC had presented to SRC. The plan was that after SRC's input, a technical committee comprising unions and Government side would be set up to work on acceptable levels of offer,” said the official.

"When unions realised that SRC had advised otherwise,they picked it (document) as an offer and went ahead to file it in at the Industrial court," said the official who attended the meeting tyhat generated the 50-60 per cent ghost.

Sossion however maintained that the unions were given a counter offer. "If they did not give us an offer then who generated the document? It was given to us in the presence of Treasury, Devolution ministry and Ministry of Education officials," said Sossion.

He said TSC had a chance in court to explain themselves whether they placed an offer or not.

"...but the judge made a ruling based on the document. This means that the document was authentic. Let them spare us of these propaganda," said Sossion.

Correspondence between TSC and SRC seen by The Standard revealed the Government had objected to any pay offer.

SRC advised that the items proposed by the TSC were already harmonised with other public sector employees and warned against subjecting the same to negotiations.

The terse advisory letter by the Sarah Serem-led commission wanted the teachers’ employer to do thorough homework before presenting any proposals to the teachers unions.

"...TSC to demonstrate budgetary provision for the proposed remuneration structure before seeking advice from SRC," reads the letter dated September 26, 2014 and signed by Anne Gitau, the SRC acting secretary.

The letter was copied to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, the Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia and Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.

The documents further indicated that TSC had frantically made efforts to consult with the SRC since 2012.

"Following the receipt of the memorandum, the Commission (TSC) vide our letter dated December 20, 2012 forwarded proposals on a range of issues seeking for your advice before engaging with the unions," reads the letter.

The letter goes on: "While some of the demands will be addressed by the commission administratively, we would like to appreciate if you could advise on the pending issues in the memorandum to enable us table counter proposal on September 30, 2014."

In its response to the proposal, SRC said: "the Commission (SRC) observed that due to cost implication, it is important that National Treasury confirms availability of funds to meet the resultant expenditure."

Ms Gitau said SRC is already conducting a study on payment of allowances payable in the public service to inform any future reviews.