Pressure Mounts To List Two Machakos Sub-Counties As Teacher Hardship Areas

The Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly is set to engage the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over how hardship zones are identified across the country. This comes after concerns were raised that teachers in Mwala and Kalama sub-counties of Machakos are unfairly excluded from the hardship allowance, despite facing challenges similar to those in neighbouring regions.

The Committee, chaired by Kitui West MP Edith Nyenze, reached the decision during a session prompted by a petition from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Machakos branch. The petition was presented by Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka.

“As a Committee, we will meet the leadership of TSC and even the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to understand the criteria they use to classify hardship areas,” said Hon. Nyenze.

MP Musyoka told the committee that both Mwala and Kalama sub-counties face harsh living and working conditions but remain excluded from the list of gazetted hardship zones. He said teachers in these areas are missing out on crucial hardship allowances given to their colleagues in surrounding sub-counties.

“Mwala lies between Yatta, Kitui Rural, and Mbooni East—all of which are already designated as hardship areas,” said Musyoka. He added that in Kalama, teachers in 33 public secondary schools receive hardship allowance, yet 9 other schools in the same sub-county are left out, raising concerns of inconsistency.

During the same session, Mavoko MP Patrick Makau called on the Committee to investigate how TSC determines housing allowances for teachers in urban regions. He pointed to unequal treatment of teachers working in areas within the Nairobi Metropolitan Region.

“It’s unfair for a teacher in Mlolongo to receive a lower housing allowance than one in Embakasi South. These two areas fall within the same metropolitan zone,” Makau stated.

Committee members agreed on the need to harmonize house and hardship allowances to ensure fairness and consistency across the teaching workforce.

In a separate sitting, Ndhiwa MP Martin Owino appeared before the Committee to present a petition against Sukari Industries Limited in Homa Bay County. The petition accuses the company of discriminatory labour practices, including paying local and foreign workers differently for doing the same job, and segregating staff in workplace meetings.

“My request is for this Committee to investigate claims of discrimination and unfair treatment at Sukari Industries, affecting both outsourced and directly employed workers,” said Owino.

The Committee committed to follow up on the issue, including a possible visit to the factory. However, they asked the MP to submit more information to help guide the inquiry.

“Those who signed the petition should be classified into workers employed by Sukari Industries and those under outsourced companies,” Nyenze directed.