Civil servants have been dealt a blow after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (CRC) slashes fat allowances from 247 to five.
The drastic pay cuts will start next year following an advisory of the CRC.
Civil servants in all public service institutions will be largely affected by CRC’s move from 30th April 2022 for they will be subject to earn house allowance, commuter allowance, job-related allowance, labour market adjustment allowance and task-related allowance.
While addressing journalists in Nairobi yesterday, CRC chairperson Lyn Mengish directed that all allowances are classified by all state agencies into the above five mentioned broad categories.
CRC chairperson also said that the entities have up to November 30, 2021, to submit to the commission a review list and their advice on these allowances and failure to which the allowances would be illegal.
CRC is also set to change payment of allowances to civil servants as absolute figures and not percentages as it has been. The commission said that percentages are to blame for the country’s ever-rising wage bill.
Mengish also said that CRC shall set, review and advice on the allowances that fall in the broad five categories and outline their purpose, criteria, eligibility, rate and scope.
According to Lyn Mengish, the commission is going to issue an advisory on the conversion of the allowances to absolute amounts consistently across all public services.
The commission further hinted that the civil servants shall continue to receive the current allowances until the final advisory is issued after the review.
The Commission has taken this move of merging allowances that are paid for similar purposes by having different names to avoid duplication.
Additionally, the commission is going to develop a policy guideline on the pension of civil servants.
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