Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has made an about-turn and frozen the review of the salary of all state officers.
Commission chairperson Lyn Mengich said this follows consultations with the Treasury.
Addressing the press Wednesday, Mengich further attributed this to the recent budget cuts and the ongoing conversation in the country.
"In consultation with the Treasury, SRC hereby freezes the upward review of salaries for all State officers, and will review the advice for all other public officers, taking into account the current realities of the economy, and a reduced budget to ensure affordability and fiscal sustainability of the wage bill," she said.
She also clarified that the salary increase has not been newly gazetted as reported as it was set and published in August last year.
This, she said, is part of the Third Remuneration and Benefits Review cycle for state and other public Officers.
It was to be implemented over two years, 2023-24 and 2024-25, Mengich said.
"This review came after a two-year freeze on pay structures for the period 2021-22 and 2022-23, on account of the impact of Covid-19 on the economy," the chairperson stated.
She, however, noted that review for other public officers at the lower level will continue taking into account the existing contractual agreements.
Concerning salary cuts as has been suggested by members of parliament, Mengich explained that there is a law in place and that it cannot be arbitrarily effected.
Kenya, she noted, is a signatory of the International Labor Organisation (ILO) which stipulates how much can be done.
"We are not saying it cannot be done, but we can only do it after considering the law, and through consultations...in fact, we welcome such a move and we are ready to engage with them through the Parliamentary Service Commission," she said.
As a commission mandated to undertake the review, Mengich said they also welcome the support from all quarters to join efforts towards the goal of achieving the 35 per cent wage-bill-to-revenue ratio.
While acknowledging that the wage bill is still high, she stated that it has come down from 54.77 per cent of revenue in 2020-21 to 46.64 per cent in 2022-23.
"The wage bill is expected to further decline to 35 per cent by 2028," she added.
