SRC Set to Discard Additional Allowances

In its efforts to unify public sector pay, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has identified further allowances for removal.

Employing institutions are anticipated to be involved in the secondary scraps, the third step of the assessment of allowances.

Before recommending each institution on which specific allowances should be combined, renamed, reorganized, repealed, or kept, the SRC is expected to consult with the employing institutions.

“There will be not just savings but it will also help us address the issue of harmonization of pay, equity, and fairness,” SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich noted.

The streamlining of allowances in the public sector, a multi-year process that began with the review of State officials’ allowances, will reach its concluding stage with the engagement with employing institutions.

The last phase will see a gradual evaluation of the benefits and allowances provided under collective bargaining agreements in order to bring them into compliance with the framework for public service.

The SRC eliminated retreat and sitting expenses last month for institutional internal committees’ task teams and committees.

At the same time, the Commission maintained the same daily subsistence allowances (DSAs) for international travel while standardizing DSAs for local travel.

The evaluation is focused on addressing a number of issues that contribute to the national wage bill, such as rate disparities, the percentage of basic pay, and payments for expenses already covered by the basic income.

The SRC also aims to address the abundance of allowances and their varied titles.

The SRC eliminated the ministerial, taxable, and plenary sitting allowances for the whole 2022–2023 fiscal year.

The SRC believes that the elimination of the first two has produced savings of Sh1.7 billion annually, while the abolition of the taxable automobile allowance has produced savings of Sh2.4 billion annually.

According to the SRC, an allowance is any regular or one-time payment made to public officials in addition to their base pay to take care of their unique requirements or circumstances.