TSC to effect phase 2 July payrise for teachers despite budget cuts

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will pay teachers salary increment in their July 2024 salaries.

On 28^th August, 2023, TSC signed the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).

TSC already met the unions in Naivasha this year to iron out some issues among them the agreement they signed.

The agreement reviewed the remuneration payable to teachers which will be implemented in two phases. The first phase was implemented on 1^st July 2023.

The second phase will be implemented on 1^st July 2024. Teachers will get salary changes in their July 2024 payslips.

Teachers were uncertain whether they will get salary increment this month after TSC was targeted for budget cuts by the Treasury.

The budget cuts proposals were released by the Treasury after the Finance Bill 2024 was annulled by President William Ruto.

However the budget cut will only affect hiring of 20,000 new intern teachers and confirming to permanent terms 46,000 intern teachers on TSC payroll.

In the 2024 – 2025 budget, TSC got the lions share of the Education budget. TSC was allocated sh 369.94 billion, part of which will be used to implement the 2021-2025 CBA.

The first phase was to run from 1^st July 2023 to 30^th June 2024 and the second and final phase to run from 1^st July 2024 to 30^th June 2025.

The second phase will be implemented on 1^st July 2024 for the teachers who were in service as at 1^st July, 2023.

House allowance rates shall be paid as categorized in four clusters. Cluster 1: Nairobi City Cluster 2: Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru Cities, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi and Kitale municipalities. Cluster 3: Other former municipalities. Cluster 4: All other areas.

In the agreement the House allowance rates for Clusters 1, 2 and 3 were retained. However, Cluster 4 rates were reviewed to be implemented in two phases.

The first phase was factored in the August 2023 payroll with arrears backdated to 1/7/2023. The second phase will be paid on 1/7/2024.

During the 2024 Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) conference in Mombasa, TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia revealed that a total of 36,504 teachers were promoted during the 2023 – 2024 fiancial year.

This brought the total number of promoted teachers to 71,212 over the last five years.