She explained that the action followed the advisory opinion by the Attorney General who stated that they should pay teachers their wages following the ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court/FILE
In a statement, the commission’s Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia indicated that Sh10.8 billion has been requested from the Treasury to pay the salaries.
She explained that the action followed the advisory opinion by the Attorney General who stated that they should pay teachers their wages following the ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
“Immediately after the agreement brokered by the President, the commission wrote to the Attorney General seeking an advisory opinion on certain legal provisions dealing with public finance and of public funds,” she stated.
“Simultaneously the commission also informed the National Treasury on 23rd November that sh10,842,476,514.49 was needed to meet the cost of salary for the teachers who had not been paid in the month of September. The Attorney General delivered his advisory opinion on 30th November and the commission will act accordingly.”
She pointed out that ordinarily, the TSC payroll takes time to prepare because of the large number of employees and once the process is completed, teachers will be informed on when to expect the monies in their accounts.
“The President also urged TSC to consider paying all teachers their September 2015 salaries in the spirit of reconciliation and restoration of harmony to the sector,” she said.
She further stated that the commission did not file any case or appeal after the Attorney General’s Advisory opinion.
“The commission has neither disregarded the intervention of the President nor violated the agreement arrived at by the parties. In fact, TSC and the unions have started exploring the option of withdrawing all court cases on industrial issues in favour of negotiations,” she said.
She appealed for patience from teachers as it makes the necessary arrangements to prepare and process payment for the month of September.
She emphasised that TSC is committed to ensuring that harmony and stability is restored in the teaching sector.
During a meeting with the Education Cabinet Secretary, both the Kenya National Union of Teachers and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers issued a raft of conditions which they said needed to be ironed out before proper engagement with TSC kicks off.
Their officials had maintained that the September salaries must be paid and union dues released immediately.
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