OVER 103, 000 KNUT ADMINISTRATORS MAY BE EXCLUDED FROM THE JULY 2020 PAY RISE; LATEST TSC NEWS

KNUT Secretary General Mr. Wilson Sossion now wants KNUT-affiliated school heads to be included in the fourth and final phase that will see tutors’ salaries increased at the of this month.

This follows initial reports indicating that the teachers’ employer, the TSC is planning to leave out KNUT school administrators in the last phase of the 2017-2021 CBA.

If the reports are true, then this means that KNUT school administrators will miss out on huge salary increments set to be rolled out this month by the Commission.

TSC on July 6, gave assurance to teachers that the final CBA money is intact and will be paid in full this month.

“Key among our achievements is the signing of the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement with teachers’ unions. The fourth phase of CBA implementation comes at the end of this month. Another crucial achievement is the automation of TSC services and especially the T-PAY system through which you approve and monitor your third party financial transactions,” wrote Ms. Beatrice Wababu, TSC Head of Communications.

NO PAY RISE

However, this announcement does not offer a glimmer of hope for school heads who are still members of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, KNUT for they are not likely to feature in the upcoming pay rise.

The over 103, 000 tutors have not so far benefitted from the first three phases of the CBA since they belong to a union that does not subscribe to the current Career Progression Guidelines, CPGs.

Last year, the TSC released a circular explaining why it decided to exclude school administrators from the third phase of the CBA.

According to TSC, it is impossible to include KNUT members in the current CBA because of the implications of the judgment issued by the Employment and Labor Relations Court which directed that KNUT members be paid using the old schemes of service as opposed to the newly introduced Career Progression Guidelines, CPGs introduced by the TSC.

TSC payroll

Consequently, the TSC came up with two parallel payrolls, one for KUPPET members and another for KNUT.

The payroll for KNUT members did not factor in phase three of CBA. A total of 103, 624 teachers who comprise headteachers, deputy headteachers and senior teachers were affected.

The Commission further warned that continued disregard for the current CPGs will result in KNUT members losing all the benefits of the current CBA.

“The payroll for KNUT members has not factored in phase three of the current CBA because the court ordered that their terms be based on the old Schemes of Service and not Career Progression Guideline, CPGs. Some 103, 624 teachers who also include headteachers, deputy headteachers, and senior teachers are affected. Eventually, this will lead to KNUT members losing all benefits embedded in the CBP as the implementation of the CBA,” warned the Teachers Service Commission through a circular last year.

It is in the public domain that the Commission prepares its payroll by mid-month.KNUT Secretary General’s plea that the teachers be included in the current CBA may, therefore, have little or no impact at all especially if the Commission already decided to exclude them.

The TSC payroll has already closed and tension is still high on whether the affected administrators will be excluded again.

The only thing that we can do now is to wait and see how things unfold.