The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) turned down salary and benefits requests worth Ksh3.8 billion during the first quarter of the 2024/2025 Financial Year. The commission has revealed in its latest Wage Bill Bulletin.
Covering the period from July to September 2024, the bulletin highlights ongoing trends and key decisions affecting Kenya’s public wage bill.
These include socio-economic dynamics, inflation, and institutional requests for remuneration adjustments.
According to the report, between July and September 2024, SRC received 88 requests from various public institutions seeking salary reviews, bonuses, and enhanced allowances.
Out of the requests, 62 requests (70%) were for allowances and benefits, followed by 13 requests (15%) on Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), 9 (10%) for salary reviews, and 4 (5%) for bonus rewards.
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SRC Rejects the Requests on Salary and Allowances
Moreover, SRC requests amounted to Ksh10.35 billion, but only Ksh6.45 billion was approved, translating to 62.35% of the total submissions.
However, over the same period in 2023, Ksh39.8 billion worth of requests were made and 60.43% were approved.
The commission has explained that by rejecting Ksh3.8 billion worth of requests, it effectively ensured huge cost savings for the public sector. SRC explained that the move was necessary because the public wage bill stands at Ksh1.17 trillion, with a total of 992,900 employees on the government payroll.
During the reporting period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) edged up slightly, averaging 139.98, with a month-on-month increase from 139.94 in July to 140.13 in September.
On the other hand, inflation eased, dropping from 4.3% in July to 3.6% in September 2024, with an average of 4.10% for the quarter, notably below the Central Bank of Kenya’s minimum target of 5%.
Also, the report detailed that although the ease of inflation provided some relief, it also reflected a cautious economic climate that SRC had to consider when evaluating remuneration requests.
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Increase in Government Employment
In the second quarter report, covering October to December 2024, SRC indicated that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) maintained its position as the largest employer in Kenya’s public sector, accounting for 33.8% of the total public wage bill in the Financial Year (FY) 2023/2024.
This makes TSC the single biggest driver of wage-related expenditure in government, followed by the national government, which accounted for 27.12%.
Moreover, TSC registered an 8.72% growth in employee numbers, contributing to the overall increase in public sector employment, which stands at 992,900 employees.
The bulletin also notes a steady increase in public sector employment. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which remains the largest public employer, recorded an 8.72 per cent growth in its workforce in 2023. County governments saw a 1.89 per cent increase, bringing their total workforce to 221,400 employees.
Meanwhile, state corporations and parastatals registered workforce increases of 1.04 per cent and 1.12 per cent, respectively. Employment under ministries and extra-budgetary institutions grew by 3.36 per cent.
However, despite the absence of a fully constituted Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) during the second quarter of FY 2024/2025, public wage payments continued to rise.
“During the period under review, SRC continued to receive requests from public institutions, despite the fact that SRC was not fully constituted following the end of the six-year term of the Chairperson and six Members of the Commission.
“In the absence of a fully constituted SRC, no request was determined, and therefore, the value for SRC advice was not computed for the period under review,” read the report in part.
The public service wage bill grew by 6.36%, from Ksh1.04 trillion in FY 2021/2022 to Ksh1.1 trillion in FY 2022/2023, and was projected to hit Ksh1.17 trillion.
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