Teachers have landed a major victory after a new Sh33 billion deal between the Teachers Service Commission and two unions delivered a significant salary increase and the gradual removal of the widely criticised Career Progression Guidelines.

The agreement, which was signed following hours of negotiations at the Kenya Institute of Special Education in Kasarani, Nairobi, will benefit members of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (Kusnet). Talks with the Kenya National Union of Teachers were still ongoing by the time the deal was sealed.

Under the five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement, salaries for teachers will increase by between 5 and 29.6 per cent, depending on job group.

Those earning the lowest salaries will receive the biggest rise, while senior teachers in higher grades will get a smaller increase.

“We have managed to get an increment of 5 per cent to 29.6 per cent,” said Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori after the signing.

“Those in the higher job groups will receive 5 per cent, while the lowest-paid teachers will benefit from a 29.6 per cent rise. This award in basic pay has favoured, to a large extent, the ordinary teacher, the one who bears the brunt of the work in schools.”

Misori noted that the deal marks a shift from the previous 2016–2021 CBA, where senior school administrators were the biggest winners while classroom teachers were largely overlooked.

He said the current agreement corrects that imbalance by focusing on teachers at the bottom of the profession’s structure.

A teacher earning around Sh23,000 will see their monthly salary rise to about Sh29,000 under the new arrangement.

The pay increase will be rolled out gradually, with Sh8.4 billion allocated annually, culminating in Sh33 billion by the time the CBA ends on June 30, 2029.

Although allowances will remain largely unchanged for now, union officials said they had successfully negotiated the removal of the Career Progression Guidelines, which will be phased out completely by June 30, 2026. The guidelines, introduced in 2018, have been a source of frustration for teachers, who viewed them as rigid and unfair.

“We have removed career progression, and it will cease to exist from 30 June 2026,” said Misori. “It has been under review and caused unnecessary interdictions. Its removal is a major relief to many.”

He added that even though the current national budget did not accommodate expanded allowances, discussions around commuter, hardship, and housing allowances would be reopened next year to address inflation and regional cost differences.

The deal introduces a new baggage allowance for teachers who are transferred by TSC without requesting the move. They will receive Sh43 per kilometre to the new work station, in addition to the disturbance allowance that already exists.

The agreement covers the period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029, but teachers are expected to receive new salaries by the end of July 2025.

This came after a disagreement between TSC and Kuppet over when to start implementing the pay increase. While TSC had proposed July 2026, union leaders insisted the revised salaries take effect this month.

Teachers also gained another benefit: an agreement that those dismissed on disciplinary grounds will now receive their retirement benefits, a change from previous policy.

Kusnet also signed the agreement, but its Secretary General James Torome declined to comment after the meeting. He walked away without addressing the press, only saying “nothing” when asked about the outcome.

Kuppet had initially demanded a broad increase in salaries and a 20 per cent rise in house allowance, citing the high cost of housing, especially in urban areas. The deal follows a meeting earlier in the week between TSC and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, which paved the way for fresh talks on Friday that ultimately led to the breakthrough.