Field officers of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) who benefit from salary agreements negotiated by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) may soon be required to pay agency fees.
Union officials have started discussing this informally but not formally presented to the higher union bodies.
Why Agency Fees?
Union reps argue that many TSC field officers, especially Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs), continue to enjoy benefits from collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated by unions, yet they are not union members.
A union official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that while CSOs cease to be active members of the union once promoted, they still get salary increments and benefits from union negotiations.
There are over 1,300 CSOs across Kenya and it has been established that these officers are not part of the Commission’s secretariat staff, therefore not part of TSC’s internal structure.
2025-2029 CBA Negotiations
The proposal to introduce agency fees for non-union members may feature in the ongoing talks between TSC and teacher unions for the 2025-2029 CBA.
KNUT, KUPPET and KUSNET proposals include:
✅ Job Group Overhaul: Unions want to restructure job groups B5 and C5 to address career progression and stagnation.
✅ Promotion Opportunities: KNUT is pushing for primary school heads to be promoted to job group D5, aligning with the Comprehensive School structure.
✅ Leave Allowances: Unions want leave allowances to be based on teachers’ job groups not uniform across ranks.
✅ SNE Allowances: KUSNET is demanding special allowances for CSOs serving in special schools and units.
Field Officers
If the proposal is approved, CSOs and other field officers who benefit from union negotiated CBAs but are not members of KNUT or KUPPET will have to start paying to union.
We shall see if the issue of agency fees for CSOs will be part of the 2025-2029 CBA talks or standalone.