The salaries team has invited striking teachers for a fresh round of talks promising to meet a considerable part of their demands if the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) can return to the negotiating table. Mrs Sarah Serem, who chairs the salaries team, on Sunday said she had developed a framework for negotiation that has significantly captured the pay package that Knut is asking for. A nationwide strike called by the union enters its third week on Monday. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) — which employs teachers — has been directed on the guidelines for the talks to ensure that the wage bill is not only affordable and sustainable but also that the pay will be at the same level as that of other workers in similar ranks. “Whatever decision the TSC has to take shall be within such parameters. We have ensured that the pay package will be sustainable until it is fully implemented,” Mrs Serem said although she did not disclose the offer to be presented to the striking teachers. Earlier, TSC chief executive Gabriel Lengoiboni had declared that the fresh talks with Knut would be conducted under the advice given by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the body created to advise the government on the salaries of public officers. Earlier talks collapsed last week after the union and the Labour Ministry failed to agree. Knut has been demanding Sh47 billion for its members as part of an agreement the union signed with the government 16 years ago, now known as Legal Notice 254 of 1997. The agreement offers teachers house, medical and commuter allowances calculated at a percentage of their basic salaries. Other payments under the deal have been honoured over the years. “We have put all these demands together and forwarded them to the SRC. The commission has since insisted that the demands must be fiscally sustainable and in harmony with the pay in the civil service,” Mr Lengoiboni said. “The negotiations must, therefore, be undertaken within the framework of the SRC but Knut has insisted on first dealing with the 1997 agreement.” SRC has consistently argued that the salaries and allowances of all public servants need to be harmonised.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 07:06:46 +0000
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