In a landmark judgment delivered on May 22, 2025, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri has ruled in favour of the Kenya Union of Pre-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).
The court directed the Murang’a County Public Service Board to pay Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers their salaries and allowances in line with an advisory issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Presiding Judge Onesmus Makau declared that Murang’a County had violated the constitutional rights of ECDE teachers by underpaying them, despite a binding SRC circular dated August 10, 2023.
“The 2nd Respondent is ordered and directed to pay its ECDE teachers the salaries and allowances as advised by the SRC vide the circular dated August 10, 2023 with effect from July 1, 2023 or when the teachers were employed if the appointment came after the effective date,” the judge ruled.
The 2nd respondent was the Murang’a County Public Service Board.
Central to the case was the SRC’s advisory, which outlined revised salary structures for ECDE teachers employed by county governments.
KUPPET, representing the affected teachers, argued that Murang’a County had ignored the advisory and continued to pay lower wages.
The union described this as discriminatory and a violation of the Constitution.
According to court documents, the union submitted that the county’s failure to implement the SRC’s directive breached Article 41 of the Constitution, which guarantees fair remuneration, and Article 27, which protects against discrimination.
The petition named five respondents: the SRC, Murang’a County Public Service Board, Murang’a County Assembly, the Public Service Commission (PSC), and the Attorney General.
However, only the SRC and the County Public Service Board filed responses.
On its part, the County Public Service Board argued that the case was premature, claiming the union bypassed collective bargaining procedures.
The court however, dismissed the argument, pointing out that the same objection had previously been thrown out for want of prosecution.
Justice Makau held that the union was within its rights to act on behalf of a group under Article 22 of the Constitution.
He noted that KUPPET had appealed to the PSC regarding the county’s failure to implement the SRC advisory, but the PSC had declined jurisdiction.
The SRC defended its position, stating it had fulfilled its constitutional role under Article 230 by issuing the advisory.
The court upheld the view, referencing prior judgments affirming the binding nature of SRC advisories.
Justice Makau quoted a previous Court of Appeal decision which stated:
“The role of SRC is not cosmetic; it is mandatory… And that advice is binding as per the requirements of Article 259(ii) of the Constitution.”
The judge found no evidence to suggest that the SRC failed to consider stakeholder views before issuing the advisory and concluded that it had been lawfully and properly issued.
Responsibility for failing to implement the directive, he ruled, lay squarely with the Murang’a County Public Service Board.
Justice Makau concluded that the board had violated its ECDE teachers’ constitutional right to fair pay by continuing to remunerate them below the recommended scale.
He said that the ongoing payment of a lower “special salary” amounted to discrimination, adding that such unequal treatment was unjustified and contravened Article 27 of the Constitution and Section 5 of the Employment Act, 2007.
In response to the county’s claim that the union should have initiated collective bargaining, the court found there was no evidence of a recognition agreement or Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between KUPPET and the county.
The judge ruled that this argument lacked merit and reaffirmed that the union had the legal standing to bring the petition.
While the court ruled in favour of the union, it absolved the other respondents, the SRC, Murang’a County Assembly, PSC, and the Attorney General, from any wrongdoing.
Justice Makau noted that the SRC had performed its legal role by issuing the advisory and that the Murang’a County Assembly could only act on a budget if it was tabled before them.
The court issued two key orders: a declaration that the Murang’a County Public Service Board violated the right to fair remuneration of its ECDE teachers, and a directive requiring the board to pay teachers their salaries and allowances as advised by the SRC.
These payments are to be backdated to July 1, 2023, or the date of employment if it occurred later.
Recognising the public interest nature of the petition, the court declined to award costs.
“Since the petition is a public litigation, I award no costs,” Justice Makau ruled.
