Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has announced that the government will fully affect the second phase of civil servants Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
While addressing the press on Tuesday September 3 Muturi stated that the Treasury has agreed to provide funds, pay to be backdated to July.
“The National Treasury has agreed to provide resources for the payment of the civil Servants salaries’ as per the terms contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” Muturi said.
Furthermore, all civil servants will get their salaries backdated by the end of this month.
The decision comes after the Union of Kenya Civil Servants moved to court on Monday seeking to suspend the Salary and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) decision to freeze their member’s pay hike.
Additionally, the civil servants had threatened to hold a strike if they do not receive a pay rise at the end of the month.
SRC Freezing Civil Servants Salaries
The SRC froze the salary review for all other public officers in the Financial Year 2024/2025 in July 2024.
The commission noted that the decision was informed by there being no allocated budget for the implementation of the advised remuneration and benefits for all other public officers for the financial year 2024/2025, and which was to take effect in July 2024.
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Public service institutions including health and education with CBAs were impacted by the deferred implementation of salary review in the financial year.
As a result, government institutions with CBAs were advised to engage the respective trade unions accordingly regarding the decision by SRC and its subsequent impact.
The union’s Secretary General, Tom Odege argued that the circular goes against the terms of CBA signed on September 11, 2023.
According to the union, the first phase was to cover the period of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, while the second phase was to cover July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
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Union Sues SRC and Public Service
The CBA, according to Odege’s affidavit, was in respect to all civil servants who fall within job groups CSG 17-CSG 8 of the national government, whether deployed at the national or county government level.
“In that agreement, we undertook to ensure that employees in service shall receive an annual salary increment as contained in the basic structure for the respective grades,” reads their documents in part.
“Despite that, CBA, the SRC, in its circular proceeded to freeze the implementation of salary reviews for all public officers in FY2024-25 until further notice. This has affected the ongoing salary increment of our members, which was ongoing and planned to be conducted in two phases.”
The union said that the move by the commission amounts to unfair labour practice and asked the court to issue an order directing the agency to suspend its decision pending the determination of the case filed in court.
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