End to the teachers strike :How does this affect you as a mwananchi

The Battle of the Titans came to a halt yesterday ending 3 grueling weeks for the entire education sector. Well, the snag caused by the teachers strike has been an explosive issue with people taking different sides. Personally it has been good fodder for a healthy argument between me and my wife. For one, her parents are teachers and she was feeling that the teachers have always been taken for a roller coaster and they fully deserved the pay. On the other end, I felt that the timing of the strike was wrong though the teacher's cry was justified. Well, after consultations the Finance Minister in a striped shirt and a leather jacket meet KNUT officials lead by Mr Wilson Sossion, where he gave the government's offer which Sossion and company embraced waiting for the teachers NEC, which is the body that will call off the strike.

 

But we all know, with or without the NEC, the strike is over. To be frank, that 13.54 billion lump sum is better than nothing. For the government it saves the country the industrial strife that had gripped the country for the last 3 weeks. The lowest paid teacher will take home between Kshs19,000 from Kshs 13,000. The highest will earn 144,928. For my teacher friends, congratulations for the fight though it involved the common collateral damage in form of our poor candidates. I honestly believe that our teachers know the perfect ingredients for exams success and they will apply the same to the candidates, the 3 weeks loss  notwithstanding. Additionally they are fully motivated and they have no reason to fail in that.

 

On the upside from an economic sense, I understand a common fact that could be unknown to many. The 13.5 Billion will have some repercussions which, while embracing the teachers pay hike, we should all be prepared to face.. For one, the government through De la Ru will not mint the 13.5 billion. The money will have to come from somewhere. With the budget allocations already made, the money to sustain the lump sum payment to the teachers will be carved from the development allocations, the national recurring budget, local and global borrowing and if worst come to worst, through taxes.
                        

Before the budget allocations are done all government departments present budget allocations which the exchequer foots in the subsequent budget. On the other hand recurrent expenditure are the expenditure that occur after the existing expenditure for that financial year are made. This is one of the probable avenues through which the government will raise the teachers pay off. Its also probable that the government may borrow the money in quick needed arrangements with either local or international lenders. These loans are never free of charge which means the government will refund back the money plus interest.

The government will probably increases taxes to finance the teachers deal which could come in form of raised VAT, Custom Duty, Excise Duty and lastly Income taxes which is the bracket that most of us fit in. Due to the belief that Kenyans are the highest taxed people in the world, the government will obviously not increase peoples taxes, especially considering this is an election year. So where am I heading to? .Custom and Excise duty will be the next stop where taxes paid by importers and exports maybe raised by a few units. These few units will be translated into prices for this goods since the importers have margins to settle. In the long commodity prices will get high.

 

These counter effects resulting from the pay off and the others that may follow should provide a platform for the government to enact measures that should insulate the local mwananchi. Coincidentally, the rise could boost some sectors of the economy since teachers have proved to be avid farmers, traders and consumers but its important the entire public is protected from the effects of the resultant bubble effect.

As the week starts off, I hope the fortunes of the students will be doubled with the return of the highly motivated teachers. Steps should also be introduced to harmonize the salaries of other groups in parallelism with all civil servants to avoid such industrial actions. I pray such a formula be reached for our doctors and nurses.
Finally, the are calls for Mr Sossion the public face of the teachers union to vie for an elective seat. His popularity with teachers is sky high and with their large numbers, Sossion could be sitting on a goldmine. Good Luck Mr Sossion
Peace.

pictures courtesy of Google

The teacher's strike: Time for action

More than 280,0000 teachers in Kenya have for the past week been on strike. I have followed the action for the last two weeks and the affair that at first was deemed of minimal consideration has completely paralyzed learning in schools. The blame game is in full gear and the test of egos between the government and the teacher's officials is in taking shape as neither of the two sides want to recede ground. The teachers strike is sending mixed feelings here in Thika. For one the teachers in Thika are solidly conjoined with the national body assertion that no teachers should step into class until their demands are fully meant. On the other hand a lot of people feel that the 300% demanded by the teachers can only be supported by a world super power economy and not by a developing country like Kenya.

15 years ago, the then government headed by President Moi and represented on the table by Joseph Kamotho penned an agreement that would see the teacher awarded a 300% hike on their salary. The current teacher strike derives its cause from the agreement that the was never honored by the then and current governments. Thats why the teachers feel they have a genuine and justified reason to down the chalk and hit the streets singing trade unionist songs that have become a darling of striking Kenyan workers.

Are the teachers justified to go on strike?
A large part of the public feel that the strike is wrong timed since it comes just few months before the primary and secondary school final exams kick off. In reality this is punitive to the poor kids who are greatly in need of their teachers on their final lap. This strike will for sure have casualties come February when the KCPE and KCSE results are out. Which begs the question, are the students being used as collateral damage or just mere victims of circumstances caught up in a war between two giants.

Teachers are a very focal group of civil servants. Majority of us in nice jobs or speaking that flawless English owe a lot to our teachers. Apart from our parents, teachers are the main moulders of character, knowledge and morals. Personally I owe a lot to my former History Teacher and I remember holding her in awe whenever she strutted into class since I considered her to be quite rich considering she was a high school teacher. Years later reality on the plight of the teachers dawned on me when some of my friends took teaching jobs with the government and i saw copies of their pay slips. This changed my initial perception about the fat pay awarded to teachers.

They are a vital part of the society and for that they deserve a good pay. To make matters worse the teachers were promised an increment which to date has been ignored. I was talking to a disgruntled teacher who felt that the government has always forgotten them while still expecting them to to mould the Kenyan children into smart,wise and morally upright citizens. He claims that MPs earn hundreds of thousands with no clear legacy on the life of Kenyans like the Kenyans teachers do.When doing my research I came across different views on the strikes. According to Mwalimusmart a website dedicated to making the work of teachers and students simpler through online learning resources, harmonization of pay is paramount. "We cannot be equal in salaries scale but surely a teacher deserves a better deal ".

Today marks the second week of the strike and just like the other parts of the country, Thika has felt the effect of the strike. Many secondary schools have been forced to send their students home with many schools remaining closed. To be honest, the strike is biting. So what happens, how will the teachers react to the threat by the government to stop their pay if they don't return to work?. The teachers officials seem unmoved since they claim they cannot be given threats while at the same time be expected to be on the negotiation table.

The economy has been hard on the country and the teachers feels that they need to be empowered in terms of pay hikes just like the other civil servants. Reminds me, even trainee doctors at KNH are also on strike and as well, the university lecturers. What is going on in our beautiful country. I still love my country and believe that an amicable solution will be adopted to save our 2012 candidates. So, as the strike hits the second week I look forward to a positive communication from the government and the teachers officials that is fair to all parties.

picture courtesy of Google