How SRC Determines Public Servants Salary
How SRC Determines Public Servants Salary. Recently, attention was focused on the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which is now evaluating the remuneration for State Officers and other public employees.
President William Ruto actively participated in the conversation and asked the SRC to remove high-ranking officials from the evaluation.
Nevertheless, it is still anticipated that the SRC, which is legally independent of the administration, would finish up what will be its third review cycle later this month and publish changes to the public service’s compensation structure.
What makes up the cornerstone of the SRC salary review?
The 2010 Constitution mandates that the SRC set all State office wages and benefits, examine them on a regular basis, and advise the federal and municipal governments on all other public employee pay and benefits.
The SRC is responsible for ensuring that the public service both attracts and retains the talent required to carry out its responsibilities and that the wage bill is fiscally viable.
Compensation must honor performance and productivity in addition to promoting transparency and fairness.
The SRC will close the window for public comments on the proposed pay review this week.
A review cycle may not be used by the SRC.
The SRC previously considered the macroeconomic environment in light of the economic consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak and suspended remuneration reviews for the whole public service, including State officers, for the preceding two financial years.
How does the SRC decide on the salaries of State employees?
At the beginning of each review cycle, the SRC conducts a benchmarking survey on internationally selected countries.
The panel will, for example, compare the wages of the three individuals who represent the three branches of government in democracies throughout the world: the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice, and the President.
The SRC will then use a price parity ratio to establish the remuneration for each of the three positions domestically.
The compensation for other state officials, including the vice president, cabinet secretaries, senators, and members of parliament, as well as the lowest rung of state officials, including magistrates and county assembly members, is then determined by the commission using this base.
Before the established salaries are officially published in the gazette, the public’s feedback will be solicited.
How does the SRC assess raises for other government workers?
The SRC evaluates the pay for comparable positions in the public and private sectors as part of a secondary assessment of the local labor market.
The survey looks at worker compensation at mid-level companies, which is ideally representative of the country’s labor market.
The survey gives the commission an idea of what other public sector employees should be paid by allowing it to ascertain the average wage for each relevant function in the public and private sectors.
How will the SRC use the poll results to decide how much other public employees will be paid?
Take the evaluation of a driver’s remuneration as an example. Over time, drivers will work for both public and private businesses at varying salary levels.
A remuneration for a driver in the public sector should be established at the midway (median/50th percentile), according to the SRC’s analysis of driver pay across the whole civil service.
The SRC will suggest that if a public sector driver’s pay is below the median, it should be increased such that it is at or near the median.
If a driver’s compensation is higher than this midway in the public sector, the SRC will not support raising it.
For instance, the SRC has previously declared that it will not recommend wage hikes for secretariat staff employed by commissions and independent agencies as well as employees of State firms whose incomes now average higher than its sweet spot of the 50th percentile.
On the other hand, those who work for the civil service and are employed by public universities, as well as the teaching staff, will be entitled to a wage raise.
The pay of State officers may rise by 8% this fiscal year and by 7% in 2024–2025, according to proposals.
The salaries of other public officials will increase by 9% in one case and 7% in the other during the next two fiscal cycles.
The review includes, on average, 3% annual automatic increases.
Does the SRC review process adhere to internationally recognized standards?
The World Bank’s salary compensation ratio, which measures the difference in pay between the highest and lowest salaries on a pay scale, has been adopted by the SRC.
The wage compensation ratio, according to the World Bank, is the gap between employees with the highest and lowest salaries.
How SRC Determines Public Servants Salary
The SRC has adhered to this criteria and process in reviewing, developing, and offering recommendations regarding the compensation and benefits for State officials and other public officers.
President William Ruto, by rejecting the planned change to the salary for State officers, did this put the SRC’s independence in jeopardy.
According to SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich, the President’s comments would be considered legitimate emotions conveyed to the commission at the public involvement stage.
Ms. Mengich claims that the President is authorized by the Constitution to request information from constitutional commissions, including justifications.
But because it is governed by the Constitution, the President cannot halt the compensation review process.
Ms. Mengich claims that since the SRC only decides the pay for the task at hand and not the office holder personally, President Ruto has the personal authority to reject a raise.