Relief for TSC teachers as SRC okays phase 2 July payrise

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will pay teachers salary increment in their July 2024 salaries as was planned.

This is despite the Salaries and Remuneration (SRC) latest move to quash the sh 22 billion July salary increment plan for civil servants.

SRC on Wednesday bowed to public pressure squashing the entire sh22 billion salary increment for all civil servants.

SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich said the decision has been necessitated by the prevailing financial constraints in the country. The salary increment was to take effect this month.

“In view of the emerging fiscal constraints and the proposed budget cuts, and existing contractual commitments, and in further consultation with stakeholders, including and the National Treasury, SRC has reviewed the setting and advice of pay for the second phase of the implementation – 2021-25,” Mengich said.

“Therefore, in consultation with the National Treasury, SRC hereby freezes the upward review of salaries for all state officers, and will review the advice for all other public officers, taking into account the current realities of the economy, and a reduced budget to ensure affordability and fiscal sustainability of the wage bill.”

However in an advise SRC says it is detrimental to reverse or stop the salary increment plan for TSC teachers.

SRC want the agreement TSC and teachers signed be upheld and the benefits paid to keep their morale high and avoid industrial dispute.

Already the July payroll was closed and the Commission has paid teachers third party obligations like loans and insurance premiums.

On 28^th August, 2023, TSC signed the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).

TSC already met the unions in Naivasha this year to iron out some key issues among them the agreement they signed.

The agreement reviewed the remuneration payable to teachers which will be implemented in two phases. The first phase was implemented on 1^st July 2023.

The second phase will be implemented from 1^st July 2024. Teachers will get salary changes in their July 2024 payslips.

Teachers were uncertain whether they will get salary increment this month after TSC was targeted for budget cuts by the Treasury.

The budget cuts proposals were released by the Treasury after the Finance Bill 2024 was annulled by President William Ruto.

However the budget cut only affected hiring of 20,000 new intern teachers and confirming to permanent terms 46,000 intern teachers on TSC payroll.

This has since changed after the government sourced funds elsewhere and included the programs through supplementary budget.

TSC will now confirm the 46,000 intern teachers and hire 20,000 other new interns where 18,000 will be for junior schools and 2,000 for primary schools.

In the 2024 – 2025 budget, TSC got the lions share of the Education budget. TSC was allocated sh 369.94 billion, part of which will be used to implement the 2021-2025 CBA.

The first phase was to run from 1^st July 2023 to 30^th June 2024 and the second and final phase to run from 1^st July 2024 to 30^th June 2025.

The second phase will be implemented from 1^st July 2024 for the teachers who were in service as at 1^st July, 2023.

House allowance rates shall be paid as categorized in four clusters. Cluster 1: Nairobi City Cluster 2: Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru Cities, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi and Kitale municipalities. Cluster 3: Other former municipalities. Cluster 4: All other areas.

In the agreement the House allowance rates for Clusters 1, 2 and 3 were retained. However, Cluster 4 rates were reviewed to be implemented in two phases.

The first phase was factored in the August 2023 payroll with arrears backdated to 1/7/2023. The second phase will be paid on 1/7/2024.

During the 2024 Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) conference in Mombasa, TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia revealed that a total of 36,504 teachers were promoted during the 2023 – 2024 fiancial year.

This brought the total number of promoted teachers to 71,212 over the last five years.