Officers from the Kenya Prison Service have threatened to go on strike after the government failed to honor the promise to raise salaries beginning July 2024.
The prison warders staged a go-slow on Thursday, August 1, 2024, protesting what they described as poor pay and unfulfilled promises by the government.
When President William Ruto promised to increase the salaries of officers in the KPS, service men and women waited with bated breath to see fat paychecks, but that expectation was short lived at the end of July.
According to the prison officers, all officers starting from the lowest rank of constable anticipated a salary increase of up to Ksh2,000.
However, while their counterparts in the National Police Service (NPS) received their allowances, the pay slips of the prison officers remained unchanged from the previous month.
Kenya Prison Service Officers Salary Increase Row
This has consequently led to a go-slow, with officers threatening to down tools if the government does not meet its end of the promise.
Also Read: Ruto Announces Salary Increase for All Police Officers
A prison officer revealed the severity of the issue highlighting that a constable’s gross pay is Ksh47,800.
Also, the challenges these officers face are not limited to renumeration as they allege mistreatment from senior officers and a poor working environment.
A letter from the Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has now directed that all the uniformed officer of the Kenya Prison Service from the lowest rank of constable receive a minimum monthly salary increment of Ksh4,000 effective July 2024 payroll.
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The looming strike comes days after President Ruto revealed that increasing their salaries alongside those of other police officers is among the plans his administration has for the prison service.
President Ruto Announces Salary Increment Among Other Promises
Ruto made the announcement during the swearing in of Patrick Aranduh as the new Commissioner General of Prisons at State House, Nairobi while also saying that provision of better housing for the officers is in the plans.
“This month, the Prisons men and women will have their first salary increment instalment together with the other security agencies,” said Ruto.
Late last year, President Ruto pledged a 40% increment in police officer salaries as part of recommendations by a taskforce on police reforms chaired by former Chief Justice David Maraga.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo in February this year confirmed that the salary increment will start July this year and be rolled out gradually over the next three years.
The Prison Service has also been incorporated into the government’s national tree-planting initiative, as well as food production.
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