Civil servants challenge government freeze on salary increment
Salaries and Remunerations Committee chairperson Lyn Mengich.
What you need to know:
- The union stated that the decision contravenes an existing Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- The union's secretary general Tom Odege said they union negotiated an agreement last year.
Civil servants have moved to court to challenge the decision by Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) freezing their salary increment arguing that the move is a violation of their rights and the constitution.
The Union of Kenya Civil Servants said in a petition filed at the High Court that the circular issued on July 18, 2024 amounts to denial, violation and infringement of their fundamental rights.
The union further stated that the decision contravenes an existing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed by the union and the government, regarding salary increment of its members.
“That this Honourable court do issue a temporary order directing the 1st Respondent (SRC) to temporarily recall and suspend its decision to freeze the implementation of salary increments of all public servants as contained in their circular issued on the 18th July 2024 pending the inter-partes hearing and determination of the application,” the petition reads.
Annual salary increment
Mr Tom Odege, the secretary general of UKCS said the union negotiated an agreement last year, which was to be implemented in two phases.
The first phase, he said was to cover July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 and the second phase was to cover July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
He said the agreement was to ensure that employees in service shall receive an annual salary increment as contained in the basic structure for the respective grades.
But despite the existence of the said CBA, SRC froze the implementation of salary review of all public officers in the financial year 2024/2025 until further notice, thereby affecting the ongoing salary increment, which was ongoing.
Effective service delivery
“Our members are low and middle level employees and hence any salary cut or delay in any manner is likely to financially affect them greatly in regard to their daily survival,” he said.
Mr Odege said the Ministry of Public Service has the mandate of ensuring effective service delivery in the public service among others, by ensuring that matters payroll and payment of public servants and effected appropriately.
He has faulted the Ministry and the Attorney General Dorcas Oduor over the failure to properly advise the SRC.
“The said move by the 1st Respondent (SRC) is unfair, unconstitutional as it goes against the very spirit of Collective Bargaining Agreement signed on the 11th September 2023 as it contravenes the terms therein and amounts to a denial of our members’ right to a pay rise,” he said.
