An agreement has been reached to increase salaries of ECDE teachers of West Pokot to up to Ksh39,000 after an arbitration by the labour court in Kitale.
The parties involved in the dispute and settlement were the West Pokot ECDE teachers, the county government, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), and the Labour Court in Kitale as the arbiter.
In a document formalized by the court through Petition E003 of 2024 addressed to the three parties and the Attorney General, a consent was reached as follows:
- a) Teachers have to provide early childhood services across the county,
- b) The SRC issued recommendations on remuneration, including allowances, for all public servants, including county governments vide circular Ref.SRC/TS/29/(81) dated 10th August 2023,
- C) The county government acknowledges the need to implement these recommendations fully and is fully committed to achieving the proposed salary structure,
Both parties have therefore mutually agreed that the salaries will be adjusted in January 2025 because of unstable cash flow from the government as follows:
- Degree from Ksh26,900 to Ksh39,700,
- Diploma Ksh19,220 to Ksh26,900.
- Certificate from Ksh16,870 to Ksh23,700
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It was also agreed that other allowances be adjusted in July 2025 after the 2025-2026 budget.
On his side, KUNOPPET Executive Secretary Joseph Sarich thanked all the stakeholders for hearing their grievances, exceptionally thanking the governor for bringing the teachers’ concerns to fruition.
On the other hand, he implored the teachers to reciprocate by working hard to ensure they have implemented the intended objectives.
Present during the brokered deal was the County Attorney Robert Katina, CECM for Education Rebecca Kide, and Chief Officer Julius Lokituman, among others.
Projected allowances in July would be as follows:
Degree holders’ House Allowance – Ksh9600, Commuter-Ksh5000; total earnings Ksh54,300.
Diploma-House Allowance-Ksh3850, Commuter – Ksh4000; total earnings Ksh34,750.
Certificate-House Allowance Ksh3000, Commuter – Ksh3000; total earnings Ksh29,700
Nonetheless, hardship allowances for ECDE teachers in Kenya working in challenging areas such as Turkana and West Pokot are determined by the SRC and administered by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
These allowances are standardized across job groups to compensate for difficulties such as harsh climatic conditions, poor infrastructure, and insecurity.
As of recent reviews, these are the packages:
Certificate-level teachers in Job Group B5 – Ksh6,600 monthly,
Diploma-level teachers in Job Group C1 – Ksh8,200 monthly,
Degree-level teachers in Job Group C2 – Ksh10,900 monthly.
By our reporter
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