KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu on Friday, July 26 said the Ksh10 billion budget cut will greatly hinder salary increments for teachers, the largest group of civil servants in the country.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has strongly disapproved of the planned Ksh10 billion budget cuts to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu on Friday, July 26 said the Ksh10 billion budget cut will greatly hinder salary increments for teachers, the largest group of civil servants in the country.
Oyuu, in a statement seen by Viral Tea, termed it sad that despite TSC going to great lengths to convince both the Departmental Committee on Education and Research and the Budget and Appropriation Committee why the Commission’s budget of Ksh357 billion should not be reduced, the National Treasury went ahead to cut down the Budget by Ksh10 billion.
“The Government has whittled down the TSC budget which certainly would affect the implementation of the second phase of teachers’ CBA,” Oyuu said.
KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu speaking during a past event. /THE STAR
According to the Collective Bargain Agreement between TSC and KNUT signed in 2021, the teachers were to receive a 2.5 to 9 per cent salary increment during its second phase from 2023. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was to be implemented between 2021 and 2025.
The union boss further noted that the budget deductions to TSC came at the time the salary increments did not reflect in teachers’ July pay.
“We are aware that TSC has not paid the final increment to the teachers’ July 2024 salary as expected which is against the agreement and not acceptable,” he divulged.
The KNUT boss affirmed that the CBA is legal and binding, adding that the Employment and Labour Relations Court as well as the National Treasury are fully aware of it.
“There is no way the National Treasury which is fully aware of the existence and content of the Agreement can backtrack on the CBA by failing to fund adequately TSC to meet its contractual obligations as regards implementing the 2021/2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the union boss said.
In his opinion, the implementation of the 2021/2025 teachers’ CBA should not whatsoever be tied to the deleted Finance Bill, 2024 nor Appropriation Bill, 2024 as the TSC/KNUT Agreement was negotiated and signed in 2021, reviewed in 2023 and appropriately factored in the 2021/2025 contractual spendings of the National Government.
Oyuu, as a result, found that the National Treasury has no other option but to fund TSC adequately to meet its financial obligations.
He demanded that the National Treasury restore unconditionally the Ksh10 billion it had reduced from the TSC budget of Ksh357 billion, terming the reduction as a violation of the CBA, “a move that is illegal and immoral.”
“Further, it should be noted that as is, the CBA has not been withdrawn by the two parties (TSC and KNUT), hence the Agreement has to be implemented to the latter,” Oyuu said.
Oyuu said the National Government should live up to its promise of awarding teachers the second phase salary increment as stipulated in the amended 2021/2025 CBA.
“Teachers would not accept anything short of the 2nd phase of the 2.5 to 9 per cent salary increment awarded in 2023 since it would be an act of treachery, breach of contract and a violation of teachers’ labour rights,” he said.
The union called on TSC to use all means within its reach to ensure that the CBA which is legal and still binding is honoured by compelling the National Assembly to approve the Ksh357 billion Budget without amendment failure, warning that failure to do so will lead the union to use all legal means within her disposal to ensure full compliance.
The Ksh10 billion budget cut was revealed on July 17 when TSC presented its 2024/2025 Financial year Supplementary Estimates I to the Departmental Commitee on Education.
