Government workers took home Sh795.4 million in the six months to December 2023 as incentives meant to boost performance in serving the public.
The bonus and cash rewards are approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
But the incentives, alongside allowances and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), are set to significantly inflate the public sector wage bill which is projected to hit Sh1.17 trillion in the year ending next month.
The SRC announced the introduction of the bonuses scheme in April last year, adding that public institutions would be expected to achieve at least 101 percent of the annual performance ratings to qualify for the bonuses.
“The requests received were valued at approximately Sh815.57 million (approved), representing 49.8 percent of the total requests from public service institutions, which amounted to Sh1,637.63 million,” the SRC said of the CBAs, bonuses, allowances and salary reviews in the quarter ended December 2023.
It is, however, not clear if the bonuses were spread across all ministries, parastatals and the counties.
Besides bonuses and rewards, the SRC approved CBAs and allowances worth Sh58.52 million between July and December last year.
The salaries agency, which sets the salaries and allowances for public workers, says it received Sh1.02 billion in requests for bonuses and rewards between July and December last year.
Workers across the national and county governments have been pushing for increased pay amid the push to put brakes on the ballooning wage bill amid a thinning fiscal space.
The public sector wage bill has grown from Sh670.7 billion in 2017 on a headcount of 833,100 but has risen to 953,041 by end of last year.
