SRC to continue salary review despite Ruto objection

The panel, which is independent of the Executive under the Constitution, stated that it will continue to accept public feedback on the planned review until July 13 before gazette[ing] the new wage structure for State officers later this month and offering recommendations on changes to other public offices.
The SRC claimed that it had accepted the President’s views and compared them to any other remarks made during the stage for public involvement.
“We are in the public participation process, and the President has a responsibility in providing the commission with his opinions and suggestions. Employing entities have also shared their opinions with us in that capacity,” according to SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich.
William Ruto instructed the SRC to halt pay raises for State officers on Friday, stating that doing otherwise may deepen the pay gap.
President Ruto declared, “It is not right for the wealthy to earn more than 100 times as much as the poor.”  The SRC contends, however, that each State officer has the personal right to reject the pay raises.
“We must distinguish between the position and the specific State officer. We determine pay for a position, not an individual, therefore an individual might decide not to accept the salary increase,” according to Ms. Mengich.
Insofar as the average monthly salary is less than the median income for comparable posts in the civil service, the SRC argues that its examination of the gross monthly compensation for State officers complies with international norms.
State officers, teaching service, civil service in national and local governments, and other public officials are the five broad wage systems listed by the SRC.
According to the commission, the average gross monthly salary for State officials is less than the median or 50th percentile of comparable salaries across the entire civil service, which justifies an increase in pay.
The SRC aims to have public officials’ average salaries be in the middle of what is available on the job market.
For instance, if the SRC is determining driver pay and determines that half of drivers in the sector earn Ksh50,000, the commission might suggest raising the salaries of drivers in the public sector if they fall below the Ksh50,000 threshold.
Given that the sector’s average earnings are below the middle or 50th percentile, state officers, employees of both the national and county governments, and the teaching service, including public universities, will be eligible for the upward revision in compensation.
However, salaries for employees in State corporations and other public officers, such as secretariat staff in commissions and independent offices, will remain at current levels because the sector’s average wage would be higher than the median, which is the SRC’s sweet spot for public officer compensation.
Pay increases for state employees will be 8.0% starting this month and another 7.0% starting in July 2024.
The mean pay increase for other public officers will be between 9.0% and 7.0% over the course of the two years. This includes a 3.0% annual increase that occurs automatically.
For the pay rise, the Treasury has allotted Ksh45.2 billion, which will be distributed equally between the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 fiscal years.
The majority of the funding is going to teachers, who will receive Ksh17.8 billion, compared to Ksh14 billion for county and national government employees and Ksh12.21 billion for other public personnel.Meanwhile, salary increases for State officials will cost Ksh1.1 billion over the course of two years.
The wage bill is anticipated to increase from the Ksh1.055 trillion forecast at the conclusion of the fiscal year to June 2022 as a result of the pay review.
The average monthly gross wage for those working in the public sector, according to the SRC, is Ksh90,153.
Given Kenya’s status as a developing country, which necessitates it to continue adding jobs in crucial sectors like education, healthcare, and security, the wage bill is anticipated to continue expanding in absolute terms.
However, the SRC is relying on the implementation of productivity measures to ensure that, despite nominal increases, the share of government revenue that goes to employee pay declines.