It is encouraging that the Teachers Service Commission has invited unions representing its workers for talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

This step comes at an important point because the revised taxes are likely to eat into teachers’ take-home pay.

This is going to dent their disposable incomes considering that the net salaries for many teachers are below inflation rates, meaning that the money they earn is not sufficient to meet their basic needs and maintain a commensurate standard of living.

Although in the past, including last month, billions of shillings have been allocated for teachers’ salary reviews, the money that actually trickles down and reaches every teacher is more often than not too little to make an impact on their social status in large part because the money has to shared by more than 250,000 teachers.

TSC, and indeed the government, ought to constantly appreciate that teachers play a critical role in nurturing the country’s human resources.

It, therefore, makes sense for their employer to remunerate them accordingly because the success or failure of generations of workers and employers is in big part determined by what they learned in school and how they learned it.

It is worth noting that the last time the commission and unions signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement, there was no money involved, because the government was still recovering from the economic meltdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To its credit, the government maintained the teachers on its pay roll, even when the private sector was shedding jobs and reducing staff salaries.

With a new government in place, and the economy recovering, it is only natural that the fresh round of talks translates to enhanced pay for all teachers, and particularly ensuring that they are cushioned from the effects of the new taxes and the high cost of living.

As such, it is critical that all parties go to the negotiating table with open minds and a willingness to negotiate packages that will be beneficial to the economic welfare of the teachers.

In return, and now that this is the season for signing performance contracts, teachers must sign their performance contracts to ensure the work they deliver is measurable and aligned to the broad goals of Kenya’s education curriculum as well as its growth agenda.