C1 teachers reach bar as TSC effects final annual salary increment

Teachers in job group C1 will have to wait for a salary deal or those lucky enough get promotion for them to realize salary changes.

This is because the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has in July 2023 effected the last annual salary increment for the teachers.

Primary school teachers in job group C1 are not eligible for automatic promotion to job group C2 like there colleagues in secondary schools.

The teachers earned a basic salary of sh. 32,149 in their July salary but this changed to sh. 33,994 in July after the Commission paid the annual salary increment.

The salary increments were for six notches after the signing of the CBA 2017 to 2021. They got salary increment in July for the financial year 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, 2019 to 2020, 2020 to 2021, 2021 to 2022 and this last one 2022 to 2023.

The teachers are now faced with job stagnation. A number of those who qualified to teach in junior secondary schools were deployed and are now in job group C2.

Others who were lucky enough were promoted to job group C2 after attending promotion interviews and are now senior teachers in their schools.

However there is hope at the end of the tunnel and the teachers will have their salaries increased each year in July should the promised salary increment be paid in August with arrears.

Though TSC did not pay teachers salaries with an increment in July as was announced by President William Ruto, it has now been revealed that it will be paid in August salaries with arrears.

This is because the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) had not completed the review process to factor in the payrise.

On June 30, President Ruto announced that teachers and other civil servants would receive their increased salaries from this month.

Ruto announced a salary increment of between 7% and 10% starting 1st July and directed SRC to start the process of calculating it and submitting the figures to various agencies for payment.

SRC is currently working on the review after concluding the public participation exercise three weeks ago.

The commission will then gazette the new salaries so that government departments responsible for paying civil servants and teachers can implement the increase.

Teachers and civil servants are unsure of the amount they will receive after the increase.

“The most important thing is the effective date of the increase. Even if they don’t get the increment this month, they will get it later, taking into account the month of July,” one source said.

Teachers in their July salaries were not deducted 1.5% housing fund because the Courts suspended the 2023 Finance Act.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has revealed plans to backdate the taxes it hasn’t collected during the suspension of the controversial Finance Act 2023 should the High Court lift the freeze order in what promises to be a double blow to teachers and other salaried workers who had escaped the July deductions.

The Court of Appeal is set to issue its judgment today Friday, 28th July following a petition filed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u seeking to have the orders barring implementation of the revenue-raising law lifted.

Lifting the orders would mean provisions with a July 1, 2023 effective date such as the introduction of a housing tax deduction at 1.5 percent of gross pay matched by another 1.5 percent from the employer would now be implemented and applied retrospectively.