Slashing ECDE teachers' pay to Ksh.7K is absurd. Here is what labour laws say

The SRC circular dated January 13 ordered county governors to pay Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teachers salaries as recommended in a December 10, 2021 structure.  

The commission noted that “some counties are paying salaries to ECDE teachers, which are above the salary structure advised by SRC.”

The SRC issued an advisory circular back in December 2021 to County Governments, right in the throes of Covid-19, recommending that all ECDE teachers should conform to SRC laid-down job-group bands in accordance with their experience and level of certification, which is normal.

However, what astounds many from this specific circular is the sheer audacity and arrogance that is shown, not in grading the teachers into salary bands as is their mandate, but in actually advising county governments to downgrade ECDE teachers’ salaries.

Time passed and SRC noticed that its initial advice was not heeded and so decided to do a reminder in January 2023. They once more alerted all County Governments that the lowest (ECDE Teacher III (Certificate) should receive a minimum salary of Ksh.7, 836 and a maximum of Ksh.8, 717, while the highest teacher (Senior ECDE Teacher I (Diploma) should get paid a minimum salary of Ksh.15, 224 and a maximum of Ksh.19, 090.

ECDE teachers have effectively suffered a salary reduction and they are up in arms! Not only was it unbelievable, but it was also preposterous! However, this is the reality that ECDE teachers are contending with unless an immediate cessation is made of the same and sanity prevails. 

Where and with whom does the SRC consult, call for input or model their salary advisory?

The International Labor Organization (ILO) says that: 

“The establishment of a just wage system is often portrayed as a means for ensuring that workers (and their families) will receive a basic wage that will enable them to meet their needs (and those of their families). Efforts to implement such a concept imply an attitude or a policy that aims at improving the material situation of workers and guaranteeing them a basic decent standard of living that is compatible with human dignity or is sufficient to cover the basic needs of workers. Such a policy is in line with every person's right to receive remuneration equivalent at least to a wage which makes it possible for workers and their families to lead a decent life”.

Whether the SRC is in pursuit of such a noble ideal is yet to be seen but as things stand, the commission is at counter purposes to workers’ ideals.

Internationally, ILO’s Convention 95 on Protection of Wages of 1949, the Employment Act Part IV on Protection of Wages and the 2010 Constitution Article 41 state that no one can arbitrarily reduce an employee's wage without his/her consent.

On May 1, 2022, there was an increment of 12% in the minimum wage in Kenya which rose to Kshs.15, 201 pay for workers in cities and about half of this figure for general workers in rural areas. This minimum wage was deemed to affect general workers such as domestic workers, workers in the agriculture sectors, security guards, and construction workers among others who undertake manual labor in the course of their daily work. How County Government employees within the education sector came to fall below the minimum wage in Kenya is SRC’s riddle to the public.

Under Kenyan Labor laws, when a firm is financially challenged, an employee’s pay cannot be reduced without consent or discussions between the employee and the employer as largely witnessed recently when Covid-19 ravaged almost all countries of the world.  It is important to recognize that an employment contract cannot be unilaterally varied by one party without the consent of the other.

The law also provides that if an employee is aggrieved by salary deductions, they can file a complaint with the labor office or sue in a court of law within three years after the pay cut. In case one is to oppose or resist a salary reduction, then an employer has the option of terminating the contract of employment by giving them their contractual notice and then offering a new contract on a reduced salary.

Employment Act 2007 Parts IV and V touch on the protection of wages and is in danger of abuse should the decision by the SRC be accommodated. Through this law, and the Constitution of Kenya Chapter One Section 2(6) states inter alia that “Any treaty or Convention ratified by Kenya shall form part of the law of Kenya under this Constitution, one cannot review one's salary downwards or retrogressively on an existing salary structure,” in support of ILO ratified conventions.

The sheer inflationary pressure Kenya is grappling with notwithstanding the need to conform to the nationally set minimum wages for the lowest-earning workers should be sensitive to all workers’ wage reviews and the SRC has to remain the fair arbiter between the state/government and its employees. 

While addressing the media recently, KUNOPPET officials said that they will not allow ECDE teachers to be despised and humiliated through earning low salaries. He called for fair treatment of all ECDE teachers in line with the consideration that all civil servants have in public service. 

KUNOPPET has vowed to fight for the revision of this SRC recommendation toward achieving a reasonable resolution of the matter.

"We are not happy with SRC's decision to humiliate us. Is seven thousand enough salary for a teacher? How will a teacher pay house rent and pay school fees for their children? A teacher also has their personal needs and families to take care of," KUNOPPET chairman Lawrence Otunga said. 

Outside of legal requirements, the SRC and the government should consider the potential negative impact such an advisory may have on employee attraction, retention, and morale. 

County governments may end up in court if sued by the grieving employees but the buck really stops with the SRC. 

The SRC set state and civil service salaries and undertakes salary reviews that directly impact civil servants and as such, they must attach great importance to stakeholders’ holders’ participation as well as benchmark their pay advisories to jurisdictions that mirror our economic development, human dignity, and quality of life.