Salaries team completes pay discrepancy analysis at key firms

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) says its analysis of jobs in commercial State corporations is set to be completed this Friday, May 22.

The results will be evaluated over the next nine months as SRC seeks to review the tasks and salaries of public officers working in entities where the government holds a controlling stake like KenGen and Kenya Power.

The exercise could see the introduction of pay freezes, set salaries and other changes meant to eliminate discrepancies in pay.

“The Commission will hold a workshop for all participants to analyse the results before we move into job evaluation,” said SRC chairperson Sarah Serem.

The commercial State corporations are the first to undergo the job evaluation exercise meant to harmonise job grades and pay across the government.

Others that are to be analysed are service and regulatory corporations; the civil service; constitutional commissions, independent offices and teaching service; and county governments.

The move to set salaries for corporations that generate income has been opposed in the past as it is felt that it will hinder the organisations from offering remuneration that can attract top talent.

Asked whether at the end of the exercise these corporations will be bound to the set salaries or will be allowed to pay a premium to attract top talent, Mrs Serem was non-committal.

“When we get there we will give the answer,” she said. “The value (of a job) might be the same but different employers might afford slightly higher premiums.”

The evaluation of all jobs across the government is expected to be completed in February next year. It is being undertaken by consultancy firms PwC, Deloitte and Touché, Ernst & Young and PKF.

The country has about 680,000 public officers earning about Sh520 billion annually.