Unlike the mid and low cadre of civil servants, seniors lacked the influence of a workers’ union that bargained hard for junior staff who got an increment of between 16 and 30 per cent in end of July pay.
The majority of the senior staff who belong job groups P, Q, R, S and T received a net pay rise of between Sh3,000 and Sh5,000.
Staff that belongs to these five jobs groups include directors, secretaries like the information secretary and chief officers.
Senior State officials have been angered by a smaller than expected pay rise after the government kicked off the first phase of the salary review exercise in July.
The managers, who are just beneath the Principal Secretary, received a pay rise of between 4.2 and 5.69 per cent in the first salary increase in five years, leaving a dissatisfied carder of staff that is the engine of the civil service.
Unlike the mid and low cadre of civil servants, seniors lacked the influence of a workers’ union that bargained hard for junior staff who got an increment of between 16 and 30 per cent in end of July pay.
The majority of the senior staff who belong job groups P, Q, R, S and T received a net pay rise of between Sh3,000 and Sh5,000 — which was less than the increment offered to junior staff.
Staff that belongs to these five jobs groups include directors, secretaries like the information secretary and chief officers.
“What they may complain about is that the increment is not that significant, and it has to do with what the country can afford now,” said Public Service Commission chairperson Margaret Kobia.
“Those in the lower grade the increment is like 30 per cent because at a lower level that’s where you want to improve rather than the higher levels.”
Their juniors in job groups A to N got a basic salary increment of between 16 and 30 per cent after signing a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The mid and low carder also got improved house and commuter allowances.
Allowances of senior civil servants were also unchanged.
“After accounting staff, we got nothing to talk about. This is very unfair given we have received no increment since 2013,” said a director who sought anonymity.
Under the new salary structure for the national government, the lowest paid State worker under job group P got a 5.69 per cent raise on the monthly basic pay to Sh81,941 from Sh77,941.
The minimum basic salary in group Q has risen 5.38 per cent to Sh99,500 from Sh94,580.
The starting pay in group T rose 5.32 per cent to Sh160,600 from Sh152,060. But the top earner in this group saw their pay increase to Sh315,700 from Sh302,980, reflecting a rise of 4.2 per cent.
Prof Kobia said the basic salary for top managers were raised marginally as the Treasury seeks to curb the ballooning wage bill.
“Everybody has been moved (to the new salary structure). It might not a very big percentage but everybody has moved, and the lower (the pay), the bigger the percentage (increment),” Prof Kobia added.
Kenya spends half of her annual revenue to pay workers, and the Jubilee administration’s continued freeze on new employment since September 2013 — unless necessary— has done little to rein in the runaway wage bill.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission estimates the wage bill gobbles up about 52 per cent of domestic revenue every year.
