Kusnet now calls for full implementation of CBA it signed with TSC

The Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) wants the Teachers Service Commission to expedite the implementation of the 2018 collective bargaining agreement in totality.

The union’s secretary general James Torome said while parts of the agreement have been implemented, members have stagnated in the same job groups for many years.

Tarome said the proposals for career progression as contained in the 2018 CBA have not been fully implemented.

The teacher’s union decried the continued stagnation of its members in the same job group despite having similar qualifications with those attending to normal learners in regular schools.

“The proposals are gathering dust at the TSC office. We want the commission to move with speed and implement our CBA,” he said.

The agreement among others secured the promotion of its members and employment of additional teachers to address the acute shortage in the sector.

Tarome however praised the commission for employing 6,000 new teachers, a move he said would go a long way in addressing the acute teachers’ shortage.

Besides employment, he lauded TSC for introducing allowances for teachers who are using walking aids. The teachers spoke during a consultative meeting in Vihiga county.

“Teachers who are using crutches will be entitled to an allowance of Sh20,000 per month, the same as those using walking frames,” he said.

The commission, he said, will also consider teachers who engage both hands while walking and those using frames to be placed in the same category.

He wants the allowances to be backdated to March this year. Tarome said they should follow the requisite requirements for them to be considered for allowances.

 “We will also be exempted from paying taxes,” he added. The CBA for the special needs teachers is yet to be implemented.

The members have stagnated in the same job group for many years. The union boss said teachers handling regular schools have been promoted to higher grades. “We should be remunerated well because handling learners in special schools is not easy,” Tarome said.