The Court of Appeal in Nairobi has granted the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) powers to advise government trustees and other public trustee corporations on salaries and remunerations.
This is after the court issued a judgment on Friday, February 28, on a case of the SRC's authority over the National Social Security Fund's (NSSF) ruling that NSSF employees are public officers and subject to the SRC in relation to salary reviews.
"In reaching the conclusion that the employees of the NSSF are not subject to the requirements of the SRC Act and regulations, we find that the Employment and Labour Relations Court misapprehended the Constitution and the law and, in so doing, arrived at the wrong decision, as a consequence of which it is necessary to interfere with that decision," the ruling read in part.
In 2016, the NSSF, the Kenya Union of Commercial Food Allied Workers, and the Attorney General, the third, first, and second respondents in the petition, took the SRC to court, challenging its circular that sought to regulate salary negotiations between the union and the NSSF.
In their argument, the respondents argued that the SRC had no mandate on the salaries and remunerations for trustee corporations like NSSF and the Union.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court initially sided with the union, deeming the SRC's circular inapplicable to the NSSF.
The SRC appealed the ruling by the court, arguing its constitutional mandate to oversee public officer remuneration was being curtailed.
In its ruling on Friday, the Court of Appeal reversed the lower court's decision, finding that NSSF is indeed a state corporation employing public officers and thus subject to the SRC's regulatory oversight.
On Friday, judges Asikhe Makandia, Agnes Kalekye Murgor and Sankale ole Kantai allowed the appeal, reinforcing the SRC's authority in setting and reviewing the remuneration of public officers in state corporations.
The judges ruled that as long as any corporation draws its salaries from parliamentary approvals and the Treasury, all its benefits and remuneration would be determined by the SRC.
Further, the ruling clarifies that SRC is mandated to advise both national and county governments on the remuneration of public officers as its constitutional role.
The judges also defined the role of the auditor general as the one who conducts audits of financial statements for state organs and public entities and reports annually to parliament and relevant county assemblies.
