TA workers sue Serem for cutting salaries to Sh200,000

Employees of the Transition Authority have sued the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for slashing their pay by up to 45 per cent.

The 44 who were employed as county co-ordinators say the SRC erred in reducing their monthly pay from Sh300,000 to between Sh165,089 and Sh200,928, adding that the commission did not follow the set rules, including consulting them.

They want the High Court to reverse the decision by SRC and have enjoined the Transitional Authority, Controller of Budget, Attorney General and the Treasury in the suit.

“The applicants apply to this court and quash the decision of the 1st respondent to place the applicants on reduced salary range of Sh165,089-Sh200,928 and reviewing the contractual terms of remuneration of the applicants,” read the court papers.

They also want the court to stop SRC from gazetting the decision as well as orders barring the Authority from implementing the pay cut.

The SRC, which is constitutionally mandated to set and review benefits and remuneration of all State officers, is yet to respond to the suit that was filed Thursday.

The public service salaries regulator has recently turned its attention to allowances paid to government and parastatals workers in the fight to trim the wage bill.

The hefty allowances paid to civil servants have made the State the preferred employer. A government study called for a radical review to cap the perks at between 10 and 25 per cent of gross pay.

Currently, allowances have the effect of more than doubling employee’s pay. Experts have warned that the ballooning public wage bill threatens to cripple the economy.

The Transition Authority employees say they were appointed as county coordinators in February 2013, with a starting monthly pay of Sh300,000 that included basic salary, house and transport allowances.

The petitioners claim they were not consulted and neither was their employer before SRC reduced their salaries. The SRC directive was dated October 30, 2014 and was to take effect this month.

An affidavit sworn by Jane Njuguna, one of the employees, says the affected workers will lose their credit worthiness and suffer financial ruin due to the pay cut.

“The applicants have entered into huge financial obligations based on their current salaries and projected earnings and any reduction will lead to possible listing with credit reference bureaus, which will deny them prospects of future government jobs,” she said.