Inside TSC New Deal For Teachers.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has raised salaries for all tutors and altered the classification of housing allowances, but these changes would only result in modest increases for certain job groups.
Those in the lowest job grade B5, which includes primary school teachers, will receive the largest raise of 4.5 percent, while those in the highest group grade D5 will earn increases ranging from 1.9% to 3.1%, depending on their wage point.
The increase implies that the lowest-paid teachers (Job Grade B5), who were earning Sh22,793, would now earn Sh23,830 plus a housing allowance of Sh3,850.
Other allowances, like hardship, annual leave, and commuter allowance, remain unaltered. Teachers in Job Grade D3 (principals and deputy principals) would receive the smallest rise, up only Sh861 from Sh105,182 to Sh106,043.
The highest salary point is Sh4,056 for those with the highest job grade of D5 (Chief Principal), while the lowest salary point is Sh3,005.
Salary points vary within the same work grade since one job grade can contain different groups of teachers. Teachers in job grade C5, which includes Senior Master III, Senior Lecturer III, Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher I, and Curriculum Support Officer II, would see a pay increase from Sh984 to Sh2,608. The higher salary will be retroactive to July 1, 2024, and will be effective until June 30, 2025.
While the majority of the allowances remained unchanged, those in Job Grade D4, which includes senior principals, had their house allowances reduced, with those in Cluster 1 (Nairobi) receiving Sh45,000 instead of Sh50,000, and those in Cluster 2 (Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Nakuru, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi, and Kitale) receiving Sh7,000 less. Those in Cluster 3, which covers the rest of the country, will earn Sh21,000. This is Sh4,000 less than they already receive.
The commission has also eliminated Cluster 4 for housing allowances and integrated them with those in Cluster 3.
Cluster 4 rates have been phased out, and instructors who previously earned house allowance rates in this cluster will now be paid at Cluster 3 rates, according to the circular.
Rural regions, designated as Cluster 4, have approximately 87% of teachers. However, the amount they will receive remains unchanged from what they earned last year.
Last week, a stalemate erupted between teachers’ unions and their employer when union representatives emerged from the bargaining session to accuse the TSC of failing to satisfy all of their demands.
The TSC officials had requested a joint press conference, but the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers and the Kenya National Union of Teachers objected; therefore, the two parties addressed the media individually. TSC CEO Nancy Macharia explained at the time that the delay in implementing Phase II of the 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement was due to budget cuts across government departments and agencies.
Inside TSC New Deal For Teachers.
