Crisis talks between government and unions are scheduled this week to try resolve Sh13.3 billion teachers’ pay dispute to avert looming strike.
Sources indicate that officials of the Ministry of Labour, the National Treasury and the Ministry of Education are scheduled to first meet with Teachers Service Commission (TSC) bosses early this week.
Thereafter, leaders of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) will be invited for round-table discussions.
Efforts to find a solution have gained momentum following President William Ruto’s directive to the Treasury and TSC to solve the pay impasse.
Knut and Kuppet have insisted they would not back down until the Sh13.3 billion needed for the second phase of the 2021-25 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is made available.
The unions are also demanding that TSC begin negotiations for the 2026-30 CBA as a precondition for calling off the strike, which is slated to start on August 26.
“We demand that the money be made available for the implementation of the CBA and that the salary arrears for July and August be included in the teachers’ salaries. Anything short of that will not be accepted,” said Knut secretary-general Collins Oyuu.
He spoke on Sunday at AIC Chepkemel in Nandi East, Tinderet Constituency.
Mr Oyuu, accompanied by the union’s first national vice chairman Malel Langat and national trustee Boniface Tenai, warned that teachers would not report to work when schools reopen next week if their demands are not met.
“We made it clear from the beginning of the budget-making process, even during the adjustments after the Finance Bill 2024 was rejected, that the Sh13.3 billion must be provided for the implementation of the CBA.
However, Parliament, the Treasury, and TSC did not factor it in,” said Mr Oyuu.
