• The teachers suspended their strike after meeting Governor Wanga in February.
• On Sunday, the tutors said they checked their February pay slips and found that they are still stuck in the old pay grade.
Image: ROBERT OMOLLO
Early Childhood Development teachers in Homa Bay County have claimed that the county government has failed to address grievances they raised with Governor Gladys Wanga.
The teachers said they presented a number of issues during their meeting but they have not been addressed despite the governor committing to do so.
The teachers suspended their strike after meeting Governor Wanga in February.
Under the Kenya National Union of Pre Primary Education Teachers (Kunoppet), the teachers agreed with Wanga to change their terms of employment from contract to permanent and pensionable.
They also wanted salary increment and improvement of working conditions.
Homa Bay Kunoppet chairman Michael Odera and secretary Bernard Ouma said they agreed that teachers should be absorbed on permanent basis.
“The situation makes most of us to be vulnerable due to job insecurity. We can’t access some loans because of the terms of employment we are in,” Odera said.
Governor Wanga said her administration had started the process of absorbing teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
She said they were considering hiring 1,397 teachers on permanent basis.
The meeting brought together union officials and teachers from Rangwe, Homa Bay and Ndhiwa sub-counties at Kabunde Social Hall.
On Sunday, the tutors said they checked their February pay slips and found that they are still stuck in the old pay grade.
Odera said they intend to announce the next course of action should this be repeated in the March salary.
“ECD teachers cannot be continually underrated in Homa Bay. We’ll not hesitate from downing our tools if our problems are not addressed,” he said.
The teachers started raising an alarm after their salaries were slashed following a recommendation by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Homa Bay was the first to implement the directive which saw some tutors get Sh7,000 down from more than Sh25,000 in January.
Governor Wanga, however, dismissed the claims saying no teacher in Homa Bay earns less than Sh13,733 monthly gross pay.
“We are currently engaging SRC on those with negative variance so that they are restored to at least their previous salary,” she said.
Ouma said they were told that an error occurred during pay.
They questioned why is it was only teachers affected by the error.
“Let Homa Bay MCAs and Senator Moses Kajwang intervene before we start the strike. The legislators should help us know why our grievances can’t be addressed,” Ouma said.
Other union members, Lancer Opuge and Mike Shaya, said life has become unbearable for them.
They said some teachers are struggling to pay school fees for their children.
“Lack of money has reduced us to beggars in the village. Let Homa Bay government solves the problem once and for all," Opunge said.
Wanga, in a press statement on February 21 said Diploma holders are paid between Sh19,000 and Sh23,000 depending on years of experience.