Teachers Give a Warning On Looming Strike over Salary Delay
Teachers Give a Warning On Looming Strike over Salary Delay. Teachers and government employees have urged the administration not to postpone April wages.
The government employees who had pay delays last month spoke through their various unions to say they had gone through great agony and would not put up with any more delays in receiving their pay.
Both the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) have threatened a national strike if the government, which has acknowledged having cash flow issues but has sworn not to borrow money to pay salaries, fails to make the payments on time.
The nation is experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis, which has caused delays in the payment of public workers’, lawmakers’, and county employees’ March salaries. In light of the nation’s deteriorating economic position, government personnel were warned to prepare for additional salary delays.
There are already some county government employees on strike, with the health industry taking the worst blow. The National Treasury stated that the government is unable to acquire sufficient funding because of declining borrowing space and underperforming revenues.
Unions, however, have disputed this claim, claiming that the State has sufficient funds to pay its employees. UKCS Secretary-General Tom Odege claimed that the Kenya income Authority’s levies should be utilized to pay salaries, citing that income collection has not decreased.
According to Mr. Odege, who is also the Nyatike MP, “we have not seen a decrease in revenue collection since the previous administration left office, so there is absolutely no reason for salary delays.”
Mr. Odege cautioned that if the workers’ demands were not honored, “the government should prepare for a mega strike in July.”
Additionally, UKCS requested better job conditions for its members. According to Mr. Odege, wages for civil officials should be proportionate with the task they perform.
He urged the government to reassess the wages and benefits given to all of its employees in order to provide for a respectable quality of living for them.
Because of their low wages and pensions, some workers choose to retire while still in need, according to Mr. Odege. The unionist claims that the majority of pensioners have been left on their own, with little consideration given to the sacrifices they made while serving the public.
“They take advantage of you while you’re in the government, but when you retire, they stop.” To protect themselves from high hospital expenditures, all retirees should purchase medical insurance, which the government would pay for, according to Mr. Odege.
Akelo Misori, the secretary-general of Kuppet, warned teachers to get ready to leave the classroom and protest for improved working conditions on the streets.
If there is another salary delay, he stated a nationwide teachers’ strike will start the following month. The unionist further disclosed that he has trustworthy information suggesting that his members would receive their April salary as well as salaries for other months in phases. He claimed that this strategy would not help the tutors’ financial difficulties.
In the event that this occurred, Kuppet gave its members instructions to prepare for a strike that would take place as schools were preparing for the new semester.