a teachers strike again?

Post Primary Education Teachers have given the government a notice to increase their salary by 100 percent or risk a country wide strike.

The teachers, through the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), yesterday said they will implement industrial action on September 5, 2012 if the government fails to adhere to their demands and increase the basic salary and allowances.

The union said that the Ministry of Education, Ministry of labor, Salary and Remuneration Commission and the Teachers Service Commission have been aware of their requests and their salary discrimination complaints since May, but have failed to respond.

Mr Omboko Milemba, National Chairman KUPPET said that the last proper teacher pay rise was in 1997, and those that have followed, have been subjected to splitting between the basic salary and allowances.

“We cannot agree to be referred back to a 16 year old agreement. We do not want a split, the basic salary must be increased by 100 per cent and allowances increased as well,” the Chairman said.

The union said that the teachers have been affected adversely by inflation, and therefore require more income to sustain themselves and to motivate them to work better.

Mr Milemba further added that the government is creating discrimination among workers by allowing for a teacher to be paid less than a civil servant, yet they hold the same position.

“This discrimination is unacceptable and we therefore call for harmonization of pay for all government workers. Infact our request for 100 percent salary increase is reasonable and it can be done, then we can have harmony, “The Chairman said.

Akelo Misori, secretary general KUPPET, said that they had given the government and the TSC enough proposals for them to respond to and avoid being pushed to strike.

“We have now given the government and the TSC until August 31, 2012 to engage us on these issues. We have mobilized teachers from all over the country. We will not take less than 100 percent increase on basic salary,” Mr Misori said.

He further stated that they had been promised an increase in salary after the creation of the Salary and Remuneration Commission.

“It is over a year since that commission was formed.  We have waited for over a year and still we have no increments whereas others have received them,” The secretary General said.

The teachers are demanding an increase in basic salary as well as in commuter, house, responsibility and extraneous allowance