How SRC sets salaries for public servants
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which is currently reviewing the pay for State Officers and other public employees, recently came under the limelight.
Among those who openly weighed in on the discussion was President William Ruto, who urged the SRC to exclude the review’s high-cadre officials.
However, the SRC, which is constitutionally independent of the executive, is still anticipated to wrap up what will be its third review cycle and publish adjustments to the public service’s compensation structure later this month.
What constitutes the SRC salary review’s foundation?
According to the 2010 Constitution, the SRC must determine and periodically evaluate the salaries and benefits of all State offices and provide guidance to the federal and local governments on the salaries and benefits of all other public employees.
The SRC must make sure that the public service recruits and maintains the talent necessary to carry out its duties while also making sure that the wage bill is financially sustainable.
In addition to encouraging openness and fairness, compensation must recognise performance and productivity.
This week, the SRC will end the public comment period on the suggested review of compensation.
The SRC may forego a review cycle.
Following the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SRC previously took into account the macroeconomic context and suspended compensation reviews for the whole public service, including State officers, for the previous two financial years.
How does the SRC determine the pay of State officials?
The SRC conducts a benchmarking survey on internationally chosen nations at the start of each review cycle.
The panel will, for instance, benchmark the salaries of the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice, and the President, who serve as the three representatives of the three branches of government in democracies throughout the world.
The pay for each of the three posts will subsequently be determined domestically by the SRC using a price parity ratio.
This base is then used by the commission to determine pay for other state officials, such as the vice president, cabinet secretaries, senators, and members of parliament, all the way down to the lowest cadre of state officials, such as magistrates and county assembly members.
The public’s input will then be sought before the established salaries are published in the gazette as official.
How does the SRC evaluate pay increases for other public employees?
The SRC conducts a secondary survey of the local labour market and compares wages for comparable positions in both the public and private sectors.
The poll examines worker remuneration at mid-level businesses, which is ideally representative of the labour market in the nation.
The survey allows the commission to determine the average income for each relevant function in the public and private sectors, giving it a sense of how much other public sector employees should be paid.
How will the SRC apply the poll results to determine pay for other public servants?
As an illustration, consider the assessment of a driver’s pay. Drivers will be employed by both public and private companies at various pay levels over time.
The SRC will map out the pay of drivers across the civil service and recommend that the midpoint (median/50th percentile) be set as the salary for a driver in the public sector.
If a driver in the public sector is paid less than the median, the SRC will advise that his or her employer raise compensation so that it is at or close to the median.
The SRC will not advocate raising a driver’s pay if their pay is higher than this midpoint in the public sector.
By way of illustration, the SRC has already stated that it will not suggest wage increases for employees of State corporations and secretariat personnel employed by commissions and independent agencies whose salaries currently average higher than its sweet spot of the 50th percentile.
Also Read:Â New public Servants pay schemes presented by SRC.
On the other hand, employees of public universities as well as teaching staff and state officers who work in the civil service will be eligible for a pay increase.
It has been suggested that the salaries of State officers increase by 8% this fiscal year and by 7% in 2024–2025.
Over the following two fiscal cycles, the salaries of other public officials will climb by nine percent in one case and seven percent in the other.
The review includes three percent annual automatic increases, on average.
Does the SRC review procedure follow rules that have been established internationally?
The SRC has adopted the World Bank’s salary compensation ratio, which describes the pay differential between the top and lowest salaries on an organization’s pay scale.
According to the World Bank, the wage compensation ratio is the difference between the highest-paid and lowest-paid employees.
How SRC sets salaries for public servants
In examining, establishing, and providing advice on the pay and benefits for State officials and other public officers, the SRC has followed this definition and methodology.
By disagreeing with the suggested revision of State officers’ pay, did President William Ruto jeopardise the SRC’s independence?
The President’s remarks would constitute valid emotions expressed to the commission at the public involvement stage, according to SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich.
According to Ms. Mengich, the President is permitted under the Constitution to ask constitutional commissions for information, including justifications.
The salary review procedure, however, is governed by the Constitution and cannot be stopped by the President.
Ms. Mengich asserts that President Ruto has the personal right to decline a rise because the SRC only determines the remuneration for the job in question, not the office holder personally.
