The Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) has urged the recently deployed teachers to exercise patience as their special allowances are being processed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The Union Secretary General James Torome assured the affected teachers that their allowances will be paid in full. He urged those affected by the deployment and who haven’t received the allowances to use the allowed and relevant process in the union and TSC to present their grievances.
KUSNET advised teachers to be patient since they are working round the clock to ensure their special Allowances are settled.
“I am assuring teachers that everything is in order and that all those who were deployed will receive their allowances and escalate the matter with the relevant authorities. But so far we have not received so many complaints,” said Torome.
KUSNET reached a deal with the country’s teacher employer, the TSC, to move a total of 6,000 SNE teachers in three phases. The teacher applied for a change from regular schools to SNE institutions in a meeting between the two entities in Naivasha on April 8, 2024.
The first phase started in May, 2024 and it involved moving a total of 1,750 teachers while the second phase involved moving a total of 2,000 teachers who were deployed by December 2024.
The third phase will involve the deployment of 2,200 teachers, which is expected to be completed by July 2025. The teachers are expected to earn a special allowance of Ksh10, 000 on top of their basic monthly salary.
Besides, a total of 347 who initially were in special needs institutions but later decamped to regular schools were reinstated to their former designations under the union agreement with TSC. The move shows teachers in special units in regular schools exempted from teaching and other responsibilities to fully focus on the special units.
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On the upcoming CBA 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Torome observed that KUSNET has already placed its demands with TSC in June 2024, noting that the CBA for SNE teachers issue will be top of the agenda.
“We submitted our Memorandum of Demands for the 2025-2029 CBA to the employer TSC in June 2024 and received an acknowledgment from the employer. What we are waiting for is the due date to start the negotiations,” said Torome.
He reiterated that no court or individual can stop a negotiated CBA between a trade union and employer, and that no employer can engage an unregistered organization without a recognition agreement as per the Labour Relations Act of 2007.
During the Naivasha meeting in April last year, between TSC and KUSNET, both parties agreed that they would revisit the CPG for SNE teachers for correct alignment.
By Roy Hezron.
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