Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairperson Sarah Serem. Photo/File
By Ouma Wanzala
In Summary
- The study will provide an evidence-based baseline on allowances payable by public service institutions
- The results of the study will form part of the data that will inform the Public Service Remuneration and Benefits Policy
- The commission said that currently, allowances have the effect of doubling employee’s pay and in some instances growing it by a factor of 10.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has
began a review of allowances payable by public institutions, which will
inform government's policy on remuneration and benefits.
Share This Story
The commission’s Head of Communications Ali Chege said the
study will identify, document, categorise and analyse all allowances
payable to officers in the public service.
“The aim of the study is to help streamline the
allowances that have contributed to the ballooning of the public wage
bill,” said the Commission that is led by Sarah Serem.
Mr Chege added that the commission will be looking
at all "remunerative and facilitative" allowances payable in the entire
public service.
The exercise is being conducted by Deloitte and
Touche on behalf of the Commission and the public officer to be affected
includes those in both national and county governments.
“The study will also give a clear baseline on
allowances across public institutions. The Public Service allowances are
an integral contributor to overall remuneration and benefits of Public
and State officers, but the present situation is that these vary across
different public institutions,” Mr Chege said.
A research commissioned by the SRC and carried out
by the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (Kippra)
to look into the public private sector wage differentials show that
allowances paid to civil servants have made the government the preferred
employer.
The commission said that currently, allowances have
the effect of doubling employee’s pay and in some instances growing it
by a factor of 10.
“The Commission’s recommendations on harmonisation
of allowances will be informed by the evidence-based study, and not
drawn from theoretical assumptions, underscoring the importance of this
study to the greater process within the mandate of the Commission,”
SRC's head of communication added.
Deloitte and Touche is expected to gather
information on types of allowances payable to public officers, the
eligibility criteria and the purpose for which the allowances are paid.
The team will also look at the rate, frequency and
mode of payment for each allowance and the aggregate cost of all
remunerative and facilitative allowances payable to officers in the
public service.
Mr Chege said the commission has written to key
public institutions formally informing them of the study and requesting
their support in carrying out the exercise whose results are expected to
be out by end of first quarter of the financial year 2014/15.
According to a study on public-private sector wage
differentials in Kenya prepared by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy
Research and Analysis, there are about 15 allowances paid to civil
servants from the lowest job group A to the highest job group V.
No comments :
Post a Comment