A report presented to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has revealed that employees of Independent Commissions are the highest paid workers with the average worker earning Sh220,000.
The survey that was conducted by the audit firm Deloitte shows that the workers earn up to seven times more than their counterparts in the public sector.
A further comparison shows that civil servants earn only a fifth of what employees earn from the 10 independent commissions in Kenya.
Researchers found that average employees in the private sector earn Sh33,825 including allowances and pre-tax which is lower than what teachers in public schools make.
Public service employees, however, earn an average of Sh49,067 with allowances that far surpass their basic pay.
"We appreciate that there is a problem. Such income disparity translates to distortion of the pay structure and destabilises the labour market," noted Ali Chege, the SRC spokesperson.
Following President Uhuru Kenyatta's announcement that elected officials will have to take a significant pay cut after the General Election, SRC intends to start with a review of the allowances meted to the public officials.
Employees of commissions, the civil service and State corporations all have up to 70 classes of allowances.
Some of the independent commissions in the country include the Kenya National Human Rights and Equality Commission, National Land Commission, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Parliamentary Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission, Commission on Revenue Allocation, Public Service Commission, Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Teachers Service Commission and National Police Service Commission.
