Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has recommended that the country puts in place a single body or a multisectoral body to handle collective bargaining agreements for public servants.
SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich said the single-body approach model that has worked in Ghana and South Africa can be tailored to suit the needs of Kenya in a way that it will address performance, harmonisation, and sustainability, as well as avoid multiplicity in the institutions calling for negotiations.
Mengich said the collective bargaining negotiations ought to be addressed beyond an institutional level while looking at the issues raised and how they impact the salary payment in another sector and its sustainability.
“The single body process should be taken step by step until we get the place where we desire,” she stated.
The Chairperson said the cost of living not only affects public servants but all citizens in the country, hence the need to balance the interests of the employees, members of the public who are taxpayers, and if the country can manage the pay rise.
“When we talk about high productivity, then we talk about higher remuneration,” she added.
The SRC Chairperson was speaking at a Media Breakfast on the Presentation of the Commission’s End of Term Report where it outlined its milestone achievement, challenges faced, and the future outlook on the role of the next commission in the management of public wage bills at an event held on Thursday at a Nairobi hotel.
Mengich, who was in the company of the SRC Commissioners who are concluding their six-year tenure on September 11th this year and Staff members, said the Commission commenced the process of harmonising and streamlining the salaries and allowances of public servants, a process that will be continued by the incoming team.
She said the incoming Commissioners will be looking at streamlining the allowances where inequitable pay happens in order to achieve harmonisation, noting that disparities in the allowances create a lot of inequity, noting allowances in some institutions go higher than 200 per cent of basic salary.
“We identified 247 different allowances paid to public officers, which account for 48 per cent of the total wage bill,” she announced.
Mengich added that SRC developed the allowances policy guideline for public service 2021 to provide a structured approach for streamlining the management and administration of allowances to improve transparency, accountability, equity, and fairness.
On the public wage bill, Mengich mentioned that it has been on an upward trend with the amount rising from Sh. 785 billion in Financial Year (FY) 2017/2018 to 1.035 trillion in FY 2021/2022, and it is projected to grow further to Sh. 1.17 trillion in FY 2023/2024.
She attributed the upward trend to upward reviews of remuneration and benefits in response to cost of living adjustments and the need to attract and retain requisite skills in public service.
The Chairperson, however, noted that the ratio of total public wage bill to total ordinary revenue came down from 51.54 per cent in FY 2017/2018 to 47.06 per cent in FY 2021/2022, which she stated is projected to decline to 39.22 per cent in FY 2023/2024 against a maximum of 35 per cent.
Mengich said the Commissioners, during their six-year tenure, were able to identify that organisation structures had many layers and levels, duplication of roles, and oversplitting roles, which she said added to the wage bill without commensurate benefits.
Regarding employment, the Chairperson said the government will continue to employ in key sectors, particularly in the sectors of teaching, security, and healthcare, to achieve the ideal ratios for effective service delivery as a developing nation.
“SRC advises that public service employment be done on approved staff establishments vis-à-vis in-post establishments; employees’ composition and in-post staffing levels be on the sustainability of the wage bill in the national government,” said Mengich.
Regarding labour productivity, the Chairperson disclosed that it has remained low, and for the country to improve its global ranking, it has to focus on institutionalising measurement of productivity, integrate various measurement systems, and create linkages to a reward and sanction system through a reviewed model of performance management.
To the commissioners who will take over from them, Mengich advised them to protect and adhere to the constitution and sovereignty of the people of Kenya and to put the interest of the citizenry first.
“They should balance what the public and public servants want. It is not always a comfortable position to be liked, but doing what is right as entrusted by the citizens,” she advised.
By Bernadette Khaduli
