SRC has introduced new pay scales for public servants
SRC has introduced new pay scales for public servants. All government employees will get salary increases under a new plan proposed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), with the highest paid receiving up to Sh846,720.
If the proposed pay review goes through as planned, it will push the public sector wage bill to a record-breaking Sh3.8 billion every month.
SRC has introduced new pay scales for public servants
The State Department for Public sector is required to provide input on the proposed pay structure as part of the third public sector salary and benefits review cycle, which started in 2021 and ends in 2025.
According to papers that People Daily was able to collect, the pay bill will have doubled from its current amount of Sh1.96 billion to Sh3.84 billion by the time the cycle is over in two years. According to SRC, the new approach will guarantee equity and fairness by combining allowances and gross pay for various labor categories.
Under the new system, the minimal basic wage for cleaners, messengers, clerical officers, and other subordinate workers in Job Group C (CSG 17) would be Sh22,447. Sh25,317 is the maximum salary for this group. Nairobi’s civil servants will receive the highest salary, with rates changing from county to county.
In the highest cadre, Job Group U (CSG3), which comprises Principal Secretaries, the Government Spokesman, Director-Generals, Chiefs of Staff, and Principal Assistant Secretaries, the minimum basic wage would rise from the current Sh563,365. The maximum for this group in Cluster One will be Sh846,720.
Each concept must now receive approval from the relevant parties before implementation, which is anticipated to take place this month. For the wage increases, which will be dispersed equally between the fiscal years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, the National Treasury has set aside Sh45.2 billion.
In comparison to their peers in the national and county governments, who will each receive Sh14 billion, and other public officials, who will each receive Sh12.21 billion, teachers will receive the majority of the funds, amounting to Sh17.8 billion.
The Automatic Annual Increment (AAI) is now averaging 3%. If an institution’s wage structures weren’t assessed during this cycle, they will maintain them with AAI up to the maximum salary points.
Pay review recommendations are meant to shield employees from Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) so long as the government can afford to pay the increased rates sustainably. These suggestions are based on the CPI, or Consumer Price Index.
SRC has introduced new pay scales for public servants.
The government agreed to restrict increases in basic pay scales, severance packages, and other benefits offered to public sector workers between 2021 and 2023 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The National Treasury reportedly argued against altering the fundamental pay scales, allowances, or benefits offered to public employees in the fiscal years 2021–2022 and 2022–2023, according to SRC.
SRC is advising that salary be evaluated consistently now that the pandemic has been stopped. Under the current compensation and benefits review cycle, it has undertaken a job evaluation review to determine the relative value of jobs and to also harmonise work grades within and across sectors.
“This includes a review of salary structures to align gross salaries against market positioning and a study on allowances and benefits payable in the public sector,” the proposal reads.
Employees who qualify for union representation will have their pay structures negotiated through collective bargaining negotiations (CBN) in conformity with the laws in effect at the time.
The methodology is included in the performance contracting guidelines for the new fiscal year, which started last weekend, claims SRC.
The objectives of SRC include progressive harmonization and equity in government service compensation. The third phase of the recommendations would ensure that the rates for dwelling allowances are eventually standardized across all geographic areas. Furthermore, it will reduce the number of clusters from four to three, enabling individuals in Cluster 4 to effectively join Cluster 3.
SRC advises that in order to gradually harmonize them for comparable positions within the public sector, the house allowance rates for lower job grades (CSG 12 and below) should be revised in phase four.
The planned review will be carried out in stages to ensure that pay evaluations are sustainable and that the government can afford to pay the enhanced rates until 2025, when another assessment is required.