Big Gains For Civil Servants In New SRC Pay Review

After the public pay agency increased the housing allowances for civil officials, they have every reason to smile.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission granted greater House allowances to government employees based in Nairobi in a circular. For instance, those in job category K will now get a monthly home allowance of Sh16,500 instead of Sh10,000. Drivers, personal secretaries, cleaners, and messengers in Job Group A who work in Nairobi will now receive Sh3,750 in housing allowance per month instead of Sh3,000.

In a circular, SRC stated that starting on the anticipated implementation date, “the new rates for the housing allowances shall apply to all public officers, other than state officers, at the national and county government, including state corporations.”

In order to implement the reviewed/harmonized above, “Respective employers in the civil service should initiate Collective Bargaining Agreements with the appropriate trade unions.” All other previous large municipalities, including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi, and Kitale, will also offer increased allowances to civil officials working there.

The salary for job group K civil officials working in the nine former municipalities would increase from Sh8,000 to Sh12,000 per month.

The pay for those in the same Job Group working in former municipalities has increased from Sh3,500 to Sh5,800. Since rental costs for both public and private sector-owned properties have increased, civil officials have been under pressure to find homes.

Civil servants will now enjoy uniform hardship allowance in the meantime.This came about after the SRC eliminated a mechanism that relied such bonuses on basic pay.

“Hardship allowance is to be provided at a flat rate for all comparable grades in the public sector, including county and federal governments. The SRC has done away with tying the allowance to a portion of the base pay, according to the commission.

Job Group A’s lowest-ranking officers will get a uniform hardship stipend of Sh2,800 per month, while Job Group T’s highest-ranking officers will receive Sh60,000. Mid-level officers in job groups K, L, and M will get, respectively, Sh10,900, Sh12,300, and Sh14,650.