Teachers Service Commission, unions fail to agree on pay Teachers’ pay talks with the Government collapsed yesterday after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) withdrew the proposed counter-offer it had tabled last week. Sources at the meeting told The Standard that TSC withdrew a proposal for aSh50 billion pay hike to the shock of union officials. “They gave us something to think about but today (yesterday), we were shocked when they said there is no such a thing as an offer,” said an official who attended the talks. Another official described the meeting as stormy. “The unions came in at about 2 pm and after a few minutes of talks, the Government side and the unions separated to consult.” “At this time, TSC had maintained there would be no offer at all because further consultations are needed,” added the source. TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni is said to have asked for more time to consult with the relevant agencies before a substantive offer that is sustainable and affordable is made. By the time of going to press, officials of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) had scaled down their demands for higher pay to between 100 and 150 per cent. This was down from demands for 300 per cent increment on basic pay. The unions however are understood to have demanded a 400 per cent increment on medical allowance even as TSC said it was working on a comprehensive medical cover. REVIEW OPPOSED The Standard reported last week that the Government had proposed to spend an additional Sh118 billion annually towards teachers’ basic pay, house and leave allowances. If implemented, the Government would require an additional Sh10 billion for house allowance and another Sh18 billion for leave allowance. Further details however indicated that in its advice to TSC, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) was opposed to review of the allowances. “Review of the proposed allowances to be held in abeyance until the completion of the study on allowances payable to the public officers,” reads the letter by Anne Gitau, the SRC acting commission secretary. Speaking to The Standard yesterday after the meeting, Lengoiboni said they had never placed any offer to the unions and denied earlier reports that the unions had secretly been given an offer. “There is nothing at all. We need time to consult,” he said. This development means the fate of the upcoming national examinations remains uncertain as teachers may be out of class. It also means that teachers will wait longer to get the long- awaited boom. Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion and two other union members attended the meeting as Akelo Misori represented Kuppet.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:19:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015