Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion says the government has days to withdraw a circular withdrawing some allowances from the teachers’ salaries.
Speaking on Thursday while addressing teachers and other education stakeholders at Mount Kenya University, Sossion said the circular was issued to the accountants and the national treasury.
Sossion said that the government has withdrawn among others; commuter allowances for all teachers, responsibility allowances for head teachers and also special allowances for teachers in special schools. He said that this is unfair since other employees earn more than the teachers but their salaries are being revised downwards.
He accused the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) was biased and did not mind about the teachers.
“They said that the highest earning public servant should not earn 25 times more than the lowest paid. Some have been earning even beyond 100 times. What will make the education sector not fall?” Sossion complained.
He added that the government has been reluctant to give retirement benefits to retired teachers where some even die without receiving their dues.
At the same time, Sossion said the government should commit 50 per cent of its gross domestic income to education if they want to fight insecurity in the country.
He said that the government has been spending too much money on non-essential projects and forgetting the parties who are responsible for every child in the country.
Sossion had been invited by the university to address school based programme students who were breaking for the holidays.