Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has two weeks to honour its 2021-2025 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with unions, otherwise tutors will down their tools.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet) have given the government a 14-day ultimatum to present a concrete offer, failing which they will mobilise teachers for industrial action.

Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori said that teachers have been taken round in circles for a long time without commitment to honour the agreement.

“There’s no leadership vacuum at TSC. We have an acting CEO in place, and what’s lacking now is goodwill. Teachers deserve to be heard,” said Misori.

He noted that the commission continues to delay fresh talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which teachers will not take it lightly.

“No one is willing to engage teachers on the CBA so far and by this, they are trading on a dangerous ground.”

With the current CBA set to expire in just three weeks and no budgetary allocation in the 2025/26 national budget to support a new one, frustration is mounting — again.

“We submitted our proposals months ago. Instead of engaging, the TSC keeps hiding behind the excuse of waiting for advice from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. Our members are losing patience,” said Hesbon Otieno, KNUT Deputy Secretary-General.

For many Kenyan teachers, both still in service and those who have exited service through retirement, the fight for fair pay has become a painful, drawn-out struggle — one that spans decades, courtrooms, and government promises yet to be fulfilled.

The unions have presented detailed salary proposals, ranging from 30 to 70 percent pay increases, new allowances, and reforms in career progression. But so far, not a single negotiation session has been convened.

KUSNET’s James Torome echoed the concern.

“The last correspondence we received was a vague promise to respond in due time. Meanwhile, the financial year is about to begin with no allocation for our proposals.”

The unions say the silence is not just bureaucratic neglect but it’s a direct threat to classroom stability and morale. They warn that failure to begin talks may lead to industrial action when schools reopen.

But beyond today’s standoff lies a deeper, more painful story: the plight of over 52,000 retired teachers who are still chasing payments dating back to a 1997 CBA — an agreement that was upheld in court but never fully honoured.

“This is not just unfair. It’s cruel. We gave our lives to teaching, and now in old age, we are left chasing money the courts already said we are owed,” said Nicholas Wafula, chair of the Retired Teachers Association in Trans Nzoia.

The teachers, most of whom served in primary and secondary schools before retiring in the late 1990s and early 2000s, won a landmark case in the Supreme Court that upheld previous rulings by Justices William Ouko and David Maraga, compelling the government to pay Sh43 billion in arrears and pensions.

Despite this, successive governments and TSC officials — including Gabriel Lengoiboni and Nancy Macharia — have left the matter unresolved.

The Director of Pensions has repeatedly disputed the numbers involved, swinging between 16,000 and 23,000 claimants, contributing to the gridlock.

“Some of our members have died waiting. What crime did we commit other than serving Kenya diligently?” said Philip Waweru, the group’s secretary.

The retirees say only a fraction of what was due has ever been paid, and mostly to those still in service during President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, when a partial payment of 25–45% was made.

The Legal Circular 13 and Kenya Gazette Notice No. 534 were meant to implement the CBA in five phases — yet the vast majority of retirees, despite favourable court rulings, have never received their share.

Attempts to hold TSC in contempt — including a 2014 High Court effort to jail Lengoiboni — were thwarted by delays and counter-filings.

The echoes of 1997 still haunt the teaching fraternity, with many educators seeing their future reflected in the struggle of yesterday’s teachers — and it is that fear, more than just money, that fuels the anger now boiling over.

“The government must show that it values teachers — both those in service and those who served it faithfully,” said Otieno.

“Otherwise, what message are we sending to the next generation of educators?”

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba last year reaffirmed the government’s commitment to honour salary arrears owed to public school teachers under the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), even as it navigates fiscal challenges.

“As part of implementing the 2021–2025 CBA, the National Treasury has released Sh13.5 billion to ensure public school teachers are paid their July and August salary arrears,” said CS Ogamba. “We are working around the clock to make sure teachers receive all their pending dues.”

Ogamba, however, acknowledged the current financial strain facing the government following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024 and a court ruling that nullified the Finance Act 2023.

He appealed to teachers to understand the economic realities and called for dialogue over the next phase of the CBA.

The Cabinet Secretary said that discussions are ongoing between the commission and teachers’ unions concerning the implementation of the second phase of the 2022–2025 CBA.

He urged all stakeholders to prioritize dialogue and avoid industrial action.

“It is imperative that we arrest the teachers' strike threat by ensuring that we have clear and forthright discussions with the unions. A workable solution is possible,” he said.