The President is set to sign into law a bill that seeks to allow Salary and Renumeration Commission to review salaries for all civil servants, should the proposal presented to parliament sail through.
As a way to keep up with the rising cost of living, SRC has proposed to the Parliament that the pay and benefits of public employees be automatically reviewed every four years.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s proposed wage review plan will soon include civil servants with other State offices like the President.
If accepted, the initiative will fill the hole in the public service’s compensation review process, which at the moment lacks a set deadline.
Because there are no statutory deadlines for compensation evaluations, federal officials must rely on strikes or collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) to secure wage raises.
Along with State offices like the Head of State and Members of Parliament, whose pay is reviewed every four years, the approval will also bring public officers like teachers, lecturers, doctors, and nurses into the fold.
The anticipated salary increase coincides with a period of steeply rising living expenses, which reduces the purchasing power of civil officials whose monthly pay does not keep pace with rising costs for goods.
The plan said that “the commission shall assess and advise on compensation and perks for other public servants every four years.”
The applicable national budgeting and planning cycles must be taken into consideration as the commission conducts the evaluation.
The commission, which is headed by Lyn Cherop Mengich, stated that while they will advocate for the automatic pay review, the evaluation will be based on the budgetary allotments and performance goals at different public offices.
The compensation review plan is being implemented at a time when the nation is struggling to pay its high wage bill, which is currently just slightly more than half of the government’s projected revenue for the fiscal year ending in June 2021, or Ksh. 830 billion.
