The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is set to streamline upward salary review for civil servants and shield state employees from harsh economic times.
SRC is pushing for the adoption of a policy that will see salaries and allowances for public servants revised after every four years to match the inflating cost of living.
According to the SRC proposal submitted to parliament, the new strategy will help bridge the gap in the salary adjustment procedure which does not have a clear timeline.
At the moment, only Heads of State and Members of Parliament receive salary increment after every four years. But the new strategy will see other government employees also receive raise in their allowances and salaries after every four years.
Presently, civil servants bargain for salary increments through the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) which are sometimes not honoured.
However, the adoption of the new strategy, contained in the Commission's proposals, will be guided by the national budget planning cycles.
"The commission shall review and advise on remuneration and benefits for other public officers every four years," the proposal read in part.
"The commission shall undertake the review taking into account the applicable national budgeting and planning cycles."
The Lyn Mengich-led commission further argued that the new strategy will set a clear framework and even address cases industrial actions that usually paralyze operations.
At the moment, the government spends approximately Ksh830 billion on wages, which is slightly above half of its revenue in the financial year 2021.
This new strategy proposal comes at a time when Kenyans are grappling with the high cost of living. Prices of basic commodities have hit the ceiling forcing many to dig deeper into their pockets for survival.
The private sector, on the other hand, has no specific rules that guide the increase in salaries. Most of the policies are developed by individual Human Resource (HR) desks before being implemented.
Other workers have unions that negotiate on their behalf such as different teachers' unions which present their demands to their employer.
