Wage bill to hit KSh1.1 trillion after salaries review

Following the most recent salary review, the total compensation for government workers will increase to KSh1.17 trillion in the current fiscal year.
Following public participation in a review in which MPs were among the largest beneficiaries, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission increased the remuneration of State personnel by KSh21.7 billion.
The review will result in a 2% increase in the wage bill, pushing it past the KSh1.17 trillion threshold.
“This pay review is about the harmonisation of pay to get some sense of equity and fairness in pay. It’s not about just increasing pay. We still had to give a pay review to State Officers but we still factored in feedback. There was a pay review but not at the same rate as proposed previously,” said SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich.
Along with the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Secretaries will now make KSh 990,000 instead of KSh 924,000 in the first year. Musalia Mudavadi who holds the position of Prime Cabinet Secretary, will have additional benefits of KSh150,000 per month as special responsibility allowance.
In a same vein, special responsibility allowances for the Cabinet Secretaries of the Interior, Treasury, and Foreign Affairs will increase by KSh100,000.
Over the same time period, it will cost an estimated KSh126.9 million to raise the salaries of Executive State Officers, whilst KSh78.8 million will be needed to raise the salaries of Parliamentary State Officers.
In general, the teaching service, which will receive KSh9.5 billion of the higher remuneration budget, will receive more than county governments or the uniformed and disciplined forces.
Following the SRC’s reinstatement of higher rates, lawmakers will be able to submit mileage reimbursement claims with increased benefits.
The SRC published an updated mileage claim for MPs on Wednesday, increasing it from KSh116.63 to KSh152.60 per km, a 30.8% increase.
The increase, according to the Commission, indicates the effective mileage claim rate’s restoration following the conclusion of a drawn-out legal proceeding that had previously blocked the adjustment to MPs’ salaries and mileage claims.
The SRC claims that the adjustment won’t have an impact on the wage bill’s finances because the financial effects of the greater mileage claim were taken into account in prior review cycles.
“What we have done is to reinstate what was there before and so there are no additional cost implications,” Ms Mengich said on Wednesday.
Given that the price of petroleum products has risen to historic highs over the past few months, the reintroduction is anticipated to provide MPs with some protection against rising fuel prices.
The National Assembly and each constituency’s relevant constituencies are separated into two zones for the purposes of claiming mileage reimbursements from MPS.
For MPs who travel up to 350 kilometers each month, the maximum reimbursement for mileage is KSh462,887.
In the meantime, claims for travel distances more than 351 kilometers are filed to protect MPs from remote regions.
The rate of KSh77.35 per kilometer for mileage claims to other State offices, who are represented by a deputy speaker and members of the county assembly, has been maintained.
With gross salary increasing from KSh710,000 to KSh725,502 per month, MPs are among State authorities who posted pay increases in SRC’s most recent remuneration review. The new structure will be backdated to 1 July.
MPs are anticipated to receive gross salary of KSh739,600 starting in July 2024.
With the exception of the President and Deputy President, all other State officers are anticipated to receive increased pay throughout the course of the following two fiscal years.
Between 7% and 10% more people worked in the public sector on average during the course of the two years, including a 3% automatic rise each year.
The wage increase is available to employees of the national and county governments, the teaching service, and public universities.
However, given their already high average salaries, employees in State businesses and secretariat workers in commissions and independent agencies will be excluded from the pay hikes.
However, pay increases for unionized employees won’t be automatic and will need to be renegotiated as part of collective bargaining agreements.