Four-year deal gives hefty raise to civil servants from July 1
Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki (left) and Union of Kenya Civil Servants Secretary General Tom Odege signing Collective Bargaining Agreement document between the ministry and the union at Harambee House in Nairobi on June 27,2017 PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- State employees in Job Groups A to D, who have been earning between Sh8,910 and Sh11,370 as basic salary, will take home Sh12,192 to Sh14,442.
- The deal, which will cost taxpayers Sh20 billion, will benefit 130,000 government workers.
- Leave allowance will be paid once in a financial year to all employees at between Sh4,000 and Sh6,000.
- Allowances payable to lawyers who are not practising in Attorney-General’s Chambers – SL1 and SL2 – will be Sh15,000.
Civil servants have been awarded a pay increase of up to a third of their salary, which will be spread over four years from Saturday.
State employees in Job Groups A to D, who have been earning between Sh8,910 and Sh11,370 as basic salary, will take home Sh12,192 to Sh14,442 in an agreement signed on Tuesday.
The deal, which will cost taxpayers Sh20 billion, will benefit 130,000 government workers.
The highest beneficiary of the deal, at Job Group N – who were earning Sh48,190 to Sh65,290 – will be paid Sh51,486 to Sh81,184 per month from July 1.
UNCHANGED HOUSE ALLOWANCE
However, the civil servants will have to contend with an unchanged house allowance, whose increase will be implemented next year and harmonised by grade.
It is expected to be between Sh7,500 and Sh100,000.
The basic salary increase is between 16 per cent and 30 per cent with a health service allowance, nursing service allowance and risk allowance for veterinary personnel as part of the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
However, civil servants in Job Groups P to U were left out of the deal as they are considered to be at management level.
COMMUTER ALLOWANCE
All the employees will also receive a monthly commuter allowance of Sh3,000 for those in Job Groups A-F while those in Group G will get Sh4,000 and Group N Sh6,000.
Leave allowance will be paid once in a financial year to all employees at between Sh4,000 and Sh6,000.
“An employee stationed in any designated hardship area may proceed on leave twice a year (from January 1 to June 30 and from July 1 to December 31) provided that the employee takes not less than half of his/her leave entitlement,” states the CBA. “The employee will be eligible for payment of leave allowance twice per year.”
TRANSFER ALLOWANCE
The CBA states that a transferred employee will be paid a transfer allowance equivalent to one month’s basic salary prior to their release to the new station, provided it is not less than 40 kilometres from the old one.
Those travelling on duty within and outside the country will be paid a daily subsistence allowance at rates to be determined by the government.
Medical officers, dental officers and pharmacists will be paid non-practice allowance of Sh12,000 for Job Group L, Sh19,000 for Job Group M and Sh32,000 for Job Group N.
Allowances payable to lawyers who are not practising in Attorney-General’s Chambers – SL1 and SL2 – will be Sh15,000.
Extraneous allowance will be paid to health workers for doctors, dentists, pharmacists and anaesthetics in Job Group N and below.
HARDSHIP AREAS
It was set at Sh30,000 for urban, Sh35,000 for rural and Sh40,000 for hardship areas.
Clinical officers and nurses will get Sh15,000 for urban, Sh20,000 for rural and Sh25,000 for hardship areas.
Job Groups K, M and N workers will get between Sh20,000 and Sh25,000 and technologists Sh15,000 to Sh25,000, depending on the area of work.
An employee stationed in any of the designated hardship areas will be paid a hardship allowance of between Sh2,800 for Job Group A and Sh17,000 for Job Group N.
RISK ALLOWANCE
Health risk allowance will be paid to health workers. Among others, doctors in Job Group N and below will get Sh20,000, nurses Sh3,850, clinical officers Sh3,000 and laboratory technicians Sh3,000.
Doctors (medical officers, dentists, and pharmacists) and medical officer interns deployed in hospitals will be paid a monthly emergency call allowance.
Medical officer interns in Job Group L will get Sh66,000 and M-N Sh72,000 and clinical officers Sh10,000.
Nursing service allowance will be paid at Sh20,000 for Job Groups G-L while Job Group M and above will get Sh15,000.
COMMON GOAL
Veterinary personnel aid risk allowance will be between Sh5,000 and Sh2,000 per month and health service allowance will be Sh15,000.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki said the CBA reflected the government’s commitment to work towards a common goal, the pursuit of improved service delivery and focuses on issues concerning productivity and a positive and ethical work culture, among others.
She hoped it will lead to increased productivity and also raise staff morale and confidence.
NON-MONETARY BENEFITS
Ms Kariuki praised Dr Jacob Omolo, the independent chairman of the Central Negotiation Committee, for guiding the negotiations in the past year and the commitment of his team.
Union of Civil Servants of Kenya Secretary-General Tom Odege said they will continue to push for non-monetary benefits as workers need to do their job in a conducive environment.
He called on the government to start a scheme to enable retired workers to get proper medication.
