TSC continues housing levy deduction despite court order

TSC continues housing levy deduction despite court order

TSC continues housing levy deduction despite court order

The first casualties of government defiance are more than 364,000 teachers nationwide who had their salaries withheld due to housing levies.Examining shared paystubs reveals that 1.5% was withheld from the January salary of instructors who are paid by the instructors Service Commission (TSC).A teacher’s pay stub from January 24 reveals that the commission withheld Sh1,125 for the controversial housing levy.

This occurred in the midst of a judicial dispute concerning the validity of the housing charge that the Finance Act of 2023 instituted.The High Court halted the housing levy’s introduction in November after ruling that it was illegal since not enough people were involved in its creation.The National Treasury and the Attorney General filed an appeal of the ruling, claiming that stopping the levy would result in financial anarchy.

While the Court of Appeal declined to grant a stay of execution on the suspension order on January 26, the teachers’ employer proceeded with deductions, sparking outrage among public workers.

Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) secretary general Akello Misori yesterday confirmed the deductions following scrutiny of payslips forwarded to the union’s leadership.

“Kuppet wants that the unlawfully withheld taxes from teachers be returned immediately. Additionally, we have asked the Commission for a guarantee that it would follow future court orders, particularly those pertaining to the housing tax, Misori stated.He stated that if the monies withheld are not reimbursed and more deductions are stopped, the union plans to file a contempt case against TSC officials.

“Such action fits in a disturbing pattern where public authorities obey court orders at their ownconvenience,” Misori said at the union headquarters in Nairobi.The University and Academic Staff Union (Uasu) has written to Vice Chancellors and principals, demanding immediate halting of housing levy deductions from salaries.

Uasu secretary general, Constantine Wasonga in a letter cited the Court of Appeal decision and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) advisory to its members to respect the court order.

Employers in the private sector had on January 26 issued an advisory, asking its members to respect the court ruling by stopping any further deductions on the housing levy.FKE Executive Director Jacqueline Mugo asked members to stop further housing levy deductions until the determination of the appeal, or until the orders are varied.

“In light of the court order, we advise our members, not to deduct the levy unless the Court of Appeal rules otherwise after the hearing of the substantive appeal or in the alternative, should the government challenge the said ruling in the Supreme Court, the said Court reverses the ruling delivered today,” Mugo said.

The union is certain that the TSC could have recalled the payslips to assure compliance, regardless of whether the deductions occurred before to the order or were a planned decision made after the court’s announcement.It was impossible to get in touch with the commission about the decision to start deductions in spite of the court ruling because neither calls nor texts were returned.