Teachers yesterday opposed the government’s plan to deduct 1.5 per cent from their salaries to fund the affordable Housing project and demanded a review of their salaries as a pre-condition.
Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion said there should first have been consultations between the Teachers Service Commission, Knut, and the government.
He said the only way teachers will support the scheme is if their Collective Bargaining Agreement is reviewed to enhance their salaries to cushion them against the extra tax.
“Give teachers a salary rise of nineper cent straight and revise the CBA and we will roll it out,” Sossion said.
Trouble started when delegates attending Knut’s 61st Annual Delegates Conference at the Bomas of Kenya responded with jeers, wild shouts, and booing when Housing PS Charles Hinga stood to enumerate the benefits of the ambitious project.
Knut national chairman Wycliffe Omucheyi unsuccessfully tried to calm the situation.
Sossion also attempted, in vain, to restore order as the shouting from teachers rose a notch higher with every plea.
The housing project is part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda alongside manufacturing, food security and universal health care.
The Sh6.5 billion project aims to construct 500,000 low-cost houses by 2022. The 1.5 per cent monthly charge from every worker will be complemented with a similar amount by the employer.
The move comes amid uncertainity over a possible strike by the teachers planned for next year.
Yesterday, Knut issued a January 2 ultimatum to the teacher’s employer to review new policies guiding teacher promotion and transfers.
The ultimatum by Sossion threatens to open fresh wars between KNUT and the Teachers Service Commission.
This could see teachers heading to a strike in January to protest policies and directives as the teacher’s commission maintains the new policies effective are meant to assess the quality of teaching.