The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers has joined calls by its counterpart Knut for a national wide strike to pressure the government to implement a salary increase. The union says it will mobilise its members to join their colleagues in the Kenya National Union of Teachers the strike if the government fails to implement the increase in 14 days.

Laikipia Kuppet executive secretary Ndung'u Wangenye yesterday said "it is a shame for the government to have lied to the teachers 15 years since the deal was cut". "The last time house, commuter, hardship and responsibility allowances were adjusted was in 1997," said Ndung'u. "This is 15 years down the line and teachers continue to get Sh1,500 as commuter allowance in spite of the skyrocketing inflation," he said in a statement.

He regretted that the civil servants had this month been increased their salaries and wondered why the Teachers Service Commission was not considering them. Wangenye said that teachers were now tired of being given false promises and it was now the right time that they reacted. He said that teachers from Laikipia had not received their hardship and risk allowances that they were promised due to insecurity in the region.