KUTVET wants the government to withdraw proposed changes to TVET trainers’ payroll and employment management.
The trainers’ union threatens a strike over proposals to shift payroll and employment management from the Public Service Commission to national polytechnic councils.
The Kenya Union of Technical and Vocational Education Trainers (KUTVET) has given the government four days to withdraw a planned TVET payroll transfer. The union opposes proposals to move trainers’ pay and employment management from the Public Service Commission (PSC) to national polytechnic councils.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Secretary General Kefa Ogui threatened a strike from the following Wednesday. He said trainers would stop work if the government failed to withdraw the proposals.
TVET payroll transfer raises employment concerns
According to KUTVET, the dispute affects roughly 10,000 to 12,000 public TVET trainers across Kenya. The union wants their salaries to remain under a structured government system rather than individual colleges.
The disagreement centres on three draft government documents covering changes to trainers’ employment arrangements. However, KUTVET argues that national polytechnics lack the financial capacity and institutional structures to handle salaries and human resource matters.
The union also fears that decentralised employment management could expose trainers to inconsistent policies and weaken job security. Its objections therefore extend beyond salary payments to the proposed arrangements for managing trainers’ careers.
Union seeks consultation and service framework
KUTVET also questions the order in which the government is introducing the proposed changes. It objects to career guidelines and organisational structures coming before a dedicated Scheme of Service for TVET trainers.
To address these concerns, the union wants the government to convene consultations involving multiple stakeholders, including KUTVET and the PSC. It wants those discussions to produce a Scheme of Service suited to trainers across the country.
Meanwhile, Ogui warned that industrial action could disrupt learning and examination marking at TVET institutions nationwide. He said the union would halt those activities until the government followed the correct procedures.
Ogui also threatened legal action to protect members’ interests if the government failed to meet the union’s demands.
