The teachers’ service commission, TSC, has defended its moneyless counteroffer proposal to teachers, saying that’s the best it can afford.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said the 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was not only about monetary gains, but also about conditions of service for teachers.

Macharia maintains that while she appreciates the right of the unions to decline the offer, they should also consider the economic situation the country finds itself in and the fact that she cannot offer what she does not have.

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“We urge the union leadership to consider that, as an employer, we have stood with their members and paid full remuneration even when other sectors of the economy were experiencing job losses, salary cuts and other harsh employment conditions as part of the measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic,” said Macharia.

According to the TSC boss, TSC is committed to providing an outstanding working and professional environment for all the teachers.

“A proof of this, the commission has this month paid the last salary under the 2017-2021 CBA, which has ensured our teachers now earn salaries that are comparable to their peers in the region and in the public service,” she said.

Macharia added that over the past eight years, the commission has embraced open dialogue as a means of managing industrial relations in the teaching service.

She said that is how the commission was able to carry out reforms to ensure the teaching sector remains professional, peaceful and free from industrial disharmony.

Macharia said their counteroffer to the unions was based on an advisory from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and that the commission’s proposal had factored in the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Aware the CBA 2017-2021 would come to an end on June 30, 2021, and in conformity with the constitutional provisions requiring employers in the public sector to obtain opinion from SRC, the commission sought advisory opinion on the way forward regarding a new CBA for the 2021-2025 period,” she said.

The SRC gave an advisory on June 17, 2021 that there would be no pay reviews for the basic salary structures, allowances and benefits paid in the public sector in the financial year 2021/2022 to 2022/2023.

Ms Macharia said the negotiations they had with teachers on Tuesday at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel were based on the understanding that the basic salary, annual increments, allowances and benefits teachers are currently getting would be maintained.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) have rejected TSC’s counteroffer and threatened to paralyse learning next term when schools reopen for first term.

Kuppet Secretary-General Akelo Misori said the union would use all means including the judiciary to challenge the legality of the SRC position blocking public-sector salary reviews for two years.

Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers, Kuppet, has demanded a better counter offer from TSC for teachers’ new salaries.

This comes one  week to the expiry of the Sh54 billion four-year salary deal signed between TSC  and unions in 2016.

The new demand also comes after the announcement by Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) that salary reviews will be frozen for the next two years due to effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

“There will be no review of the basic salary structures, allowances and benefits paid in the public sector in the financial year 2021/22 to 2022/23,” said Lyn Mengich.

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Kuppet board meeting however resolved to press on with salaries review for the 2021-2025 CBA.

Through a letter written on  June 23^rd 2021 to TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia, Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori accused the TSC of being insincere in CBA talks.

Misori said Kuppet has been waiting for a counter offer to its demands under the new CBA process for more than a year.

Kuppet had settled for a salary increment of between 30 and 70 per cent for the new 2021-2025 while TSC is reported to have proposed between 16 to 32 per cent.

In her proposals to SRC, Dr Macharia recommended that teachers below Grade C4 to D5 get a 16 per cent salary increment while teachers in Grade B5 to C3 would get a 32 per cent raise.

“This is therefore to submit to your office the TSC recommendations for your advisory on the remuneration of teachers for the next CBA as required by the Constitution and the law to enable us commence and conclude the 2021-2025 CBA with recognised teacher unions on time,” Dr Macharia said.

Kuppet is now demanding an immediate meeting to streamline the negotiations process, which it says has been hijacked by the SRC, whose mandate is only advisory.

“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to communicate our readiness to meet your teams at the earliest possible convenience during the remaining days to the expiry of the current CBA,” said Misori.

The union official asked the TSC to take charge of the process to its logical conclusion.

“We urge you (TSC) to expeditiously address this situation by honouring your commitment to negotiate in good faith. In the interest of industrial peace that we have enjoyed under the CBA framework since 2017, then TSC must give union a counter offer without any further delay,” said Misori.

The union also accused SRC for hijacking the pay talks, saying the union is only mandated to engage the employer on salaries reviews.

“SRC cannot by law make summary resolutions blocking negotiations as provided under the Constitution and legislation. Moreover, SRC regulations explicitly state that it does not negotiate with trade unions in the formulation of CBAs,” said Misori.

Misori said the union will reject the SRC pay rise freeze, saying it will alter CBA negotiations timelines.

“If we allow another two-year freeze, it means that they will be sneaking a new cycle of salaries negotiations from four to six years and this will be unacceptable,” said Misori.

He said that the four-year cycle already goes against the International Labour Organisations (ILO) convection and noted that teachers will not sit and watch further breaches.