Kenya government, teachers cede ground in efforts to end strike

Labour secretary Kazungu Kambi was Wednesday engaged in frantic efforts to resolve the teachers’ strike, twice being forced to rush back to State House for instructions after negotiations with unions hit a dead end.

The State House consultations raised hopes that a settlement was in sight despite Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials having walked out of a morning meeting and declared a stalemate.

READ: Striking teachers dig in as the State takes tough stance

Sources said the government had put on the table immediate increase in house allowance and progressive review of commuter, medical and responsibility allowances. The House allowance alone would cost the government an estimated Sh30 billion if implemented in full.

The government and the unions were also said to have agreed to revoke both legal notices 534 of 1997 and 16 of 2003 and start fresh negotiations.

Labour official Tom Namasanga, who sat through the meetings, said both parties had ceded ground “to vacate the legal notices which have been at the centre of the controversy.” The government had earlier said that teachers had been paid Sh32 billion under the 2003 notice.

Mr Kambi reportedly made the two-kilometre journey between Community Hill and State House again after hitting a deadlock with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), which on Tuesday called its members to work pending the negotiations.

“The Labour Cabinet Secretary has differed with the unions on a couple of things and he has rushed to State House to consult on the next move,’’ said a source who sought anonymity since he is not authorised to speak to the media.

At the time of going to press, Mr Kambi had just returned from State House and started meetings with union officials whose outcome was to be known Wednesday night.

Knut has insisted on its demands of an 80 per cent increase in salaries, employment of 40,000 more teachers and revocation of a contentious 2003 payment order being met before its members can resume classes.

The salary increase would fulfil a clause in the 1997 agreement that provided allowances at 50 per cent of basic salary for housing, 20 per cent for medical and 10 per cent for transport. The allowances would cost the government Sh47 billion while the recruitment of new teachers would cost Sh15.2 billion.

Before the resumption of the talks Knut chairman Wilson Sossion had declared a stalemate with the points of contention understood to be the timeframe of implementing the demands.

Earlier, Knut officials had demanded that officials of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) be not engaged in the negotiations.

The SRC has insisted that the demands by teachers must be fiscally sustainable, while Knut demands that its 1997 agreement be met by the government in total.

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If the house allowance is effected the lowest-paid teacher would take home Sh8,346 up from Sh3,000 while the highest paid would earn ShSh54,544 up from Sh15,000.

The talks started at around 10.30am yesterday and proceeded uninterrupted for at least two hours when Knut officials left the meeting room to consult, apparently on an offer that the government side had placed on the table.

Soon after their return to the boardroom at the NSSF building, the Labour Cabinet Secretary left indicating that a deal could be reached. “Give us more time,” he told journalists camped outside the boardroom.

He was not to be seen again until 5.30pm.

All evening, the Knut officials were in the meeting room accompanied by officials of the Teachers Service Commission, Treasury, Education and Devolution.

The Kuppet team, led by Secretary General Akelo Misori, came to the NSSF building at 2.30pm before they were directed to a different venue awaiting the end of an on-going meeting.

Mr Kambi had earlier stated that the two unions would be met at different sessions.

By the time of going to press, the officials were still in the waiting room.

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