- Many trade unions have CBAs at various implementing stages, some scheduled for the current financial year.
- Doctors recently ended their months-long strike on the pledge that their CBA would be implemented partly in the current financial year.
Image: FILE
Civil servants who were expecting a pay raise starting this financial year will have to wait longer following a new directive by SRC.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission has frozen all reviews for the financial year citing budget cuts.
Teachers, health workers of various categories, and several state officers who were due for a raise effective July 1, 2024 stand affected.
“The commission has deferred the implementation of the salary review for all other public officers in the financial year 2024-25 until further notice, contingent upon availability of funding,” SRC said.
The Lyn Mengich-led agency said the decision was informed by the lack of budget for the implementation of the advised remuneration and benefits for all other public officers for the year.
Teachers Service Commission said on Wednesday that it would not be in a position to implement the much-anticipated pay hikes.
The second phase of 2021-25 amended CBA was to be implemented by the end of this month, the first phase having started from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Doctors recently ended their months long strike on the pledge that their CBA would be implemented partly in the current financial year.
Union of Kenya Civil Servants, University Academic Staff Union, Kenya Universities Staff Union and Kenya National Union of Teachers have pending CBAs with the government.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, Dock Workers Union and Kenya National Union of Nurses have also been up in arms over unmet pay hike pledges.
SRC has also ordered a stop to the automatic salary adjustments for various cadres of staff saying the same would depend on the availability of budgets.
From now on, annual adjustments in existing salary structures will only be applied within the allocated budgets.
SRC has also indicated that there would be no additional funding for the implementation of job evaluation results for the current financial year.
The commission has called on agencies with CBA that are pending implementation to engage the respective trade unions on the changes.
“SRC will continue to monitor the situation and consider a review subject to availability of funding, as shall be advised accordingly by the National Treasury,” the commission said.
The notice came after one on July 3 which froze salary increment of all state officers saying the move followed ‘current realities of the economy’.
A Gazette Notice dated August 9, 2023, from SRC, noted state officers were scheduled to get salary and benefit increments starting July 1.
Both the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Senate are set to receive Sh1,208,362 from Sh1,185,327, Sh40 million mortgage, Sh25,000 airtime and official residence.
The Majority and Minority leaders are set to walk home with Sh800,019 from the previous Sh784,768.
Additionally, Members of Parliament and Senate will receive a pay rise from the initial Sh725,502 to 739,600.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and other Cabinet secretaries were set for a pay increase to Sh990,000 from Sh957,000.
Principal secretaries, Inspector General and Director General NIS were to get Sh819,844 up from Sh792,519 a month.
Deputy Inspector General Kenya Police and Administration Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations were to earn Sh684,233 from Sh652,742 previously.
All state officers were set for the pay hike before the same was drowned by calls for a leaner and more efficient public service.
The high public wage bill is among the concerns raised in the anti-government agitations which have been witnessed countrywide.
SRC data shows that as of June 30, 2023, the public wage bill stood at Sh1.1 trillion with calls that the same should be cut down to manageable levels.
The law says the wage bill should be at least 35 per cent of the revenue but that is yet to be achieved.
During the review period, TSC, which is the largest employer in the public service, registered a growth of 2.6 per cent in employment in 2022, while county governments registered a growth of 4.4 per cent to 217,300 persons.
Employment in state corporations controlled by the government and parastatal bodies grew by 1.1 per cent each in 2022, while employment in ministries and other extra-budgetary institutions registered an increase of 2.4 per cent, according to SRC.