Civil servants will lose Sh2 billion weekly from October after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) set the date for trimming public workers’ juicy allowances.
SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich said the review of a policy that will guide allowances in the public service is 80 percent complete and will be implemented in the next three months, paving the way for elimination and merger of some perks in October.
There are currently over 247 remunerative and facilitative allowances, up from 31 in 1999, payable within the public sector and they have the effect of doubling a worker’s monthly pay and account for 48 percent of the State wage bill.
The State aims to cap allowances at a maximum of 40 percent of a public worker’s gross pay, shifting from the present unregulated model that inflates the workers’ take-home.
If adopted for all government employees, the remuneration guidelines are expected to cut the wage bill by approximately Sh100 billion annually or Sh2 billion weekly.
