Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary general Wilson Sossion has revealed that the union top officials are set to hold another round of talks with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on how to implement the just-signed Collective Bargaining Agreement.
He said the union wants the increased salaries for the union members be paid in one phase next July, saying they will urge the TSC and the National Treasury to move with speed and ensure it is achieved.
Speaking at Lorraine Girls’ Secondary School in Bureti, Kericho county, during the opening of new classrooms, he said the CBA should be implemented as soon as possible so that teachers can start enjoying the new perks.
“We are set to meet the TSC to deliberate and explore possibilities of paying the increased salaries as per the CBA once in July. The implementation of this CBA requires Sh54 billion and we are asking the relevant departments to ensure this is achieved,” he said.
TSC and Knut struck a deal last month that would see the entry level into the teaching profession upgraded. The agreement expanded the grading structure of the top cadre of teachers.
When the deal was struck, Sossion said the agreement would change positively lives of teachers and uplift education standards in the country.
He said that there are more than 106,000 teachers under the P1 grade who would be promoted under the new agreement that takes effect from July 1, 2017.
The deal creates distinct career paths for teachers in what is seen to be a paradigm shift in the remuneration of teachers, those in administrative and non-administrative positions have clear career progression paths.
He was accompanied by Knut national executive council member Emily Kirui, Knut Bureti branch Secretary Daniel Chumo and chairman Alfred Rop and Kericho County Assembly Speaker Japheth Mutai.
He said focus now shifts to employment of 90,000 additional teachers saying the country is hardest hit by shortage of tutors, which has negatively affected learning in public schools.
“We want to start pushing for employment of additional teachers in public schools because the situation is so bad it will compromise quality of education,” he said.
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