As the government tries to contain the looming strike threatened by teachers, it has released Kshs 13 billion to cater to salary increments in line with the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on teachers’ pay.
The increments range from Kshs 393 for the highest earners to Kshs 2,570 for the least paid teachers.
This therefore means that the lowest paid teachers’ salaries will now range from Kshs 23,830 on the minimum and Kshs 29,787 on the maximum.
The highest paid teacher on the other hand will receive a minimum of KShs 131,389 and and a maximum of KShs 162, 539.
The increment also comes with four allowances which include commuter, house, leave and hardship. Here is a breakdown of how much the instructors will receive:
Educators will receive allowances ranging from Kshs 3,850 to a maximum of Kshs 50,000. Those receiving commuter allowance will get a minimum of KShs 4,000 and a maximum of KShs 16,000.
Teachers receiving housing allowance will receive between KShs Kshs 3,850 and Kshs 50,000.
Leave allowance will range from Kshs 4,000 to Kshs 10,000.
Following complaints of tough working conditions, teachers will receive hardship allowance ranging from Kshs 6,600 to Kshs 38,100.
Teachers in pay Grade B5, the lowest-ranking teachers, will get a minimum pay rise of KShs1,037. This means that the lowest earning teacher in this category will see their salary increase from Kshs 22,793 to Kshs 23,830. The highest earner in this job group will earn ksh 29,787.
The salary increase comes as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) continues to negotiate with teachers’ unions over their grievances, with the main agenda being the implementation of the second phase of the pay deal.
According to the CBA, the increments were scheduled to begin on July 1, 2024 and hence the current adjustments will include the backdated arrears which will be reflected in teachers’ August payslips.
The boom comes after the teachers received a similar increment last year in the first phase of the 2021-2025 CBA signed by the teachers unions and the government.
On Wednesday, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chief Executive Nancy Macharia confirmed receiving the monies to implement the pay increment fully for the 370,000 teachers working across the country.
“After today’s discussions, the Commission is pleased to announce that the Government has provided funds for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the CBA with effect from July 1, 2024,” Dr Macharia said after meeting unions.
Upon receiving the news from TSC, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) wrote to teachers assuring them of receiving their new salaries by the end of the month.
“The Commission confirmed that it had received the full budgetary allocation for the CBA,”the unions joint statement said.
“Accordingly, teachers would receive their full benefits and arrears for July in their August payslips. The payroll was to be concluded later today for teachers to receive their salaries immediately, the Commission assured us,” the statement continued.
The pay rise was the first on the list of demands by the teachers’ unions to the government, insisting that they will proceed with their strike should their other grievances go unheard.
Among the outstanding issues include the promotion of 130,000 teachers and the confirmation of 46,000 intern teachers. Other issues include a review of the Career Progression Guidelines and remittance of third-party deductions. The unions also demand that medical scheme issues be resolved to enable teachers to access public and private hospitals.
Dr Macharia implored the teachers to resume their duties for the start of the Third term, assuring that the issues will be looked into since their salary demands have been sorted out with the release of government funds.
