NAIROBI, Kenya – Civil servants earned an additional Sh43.1 billion in the financial year ending June 2025, following a series of salary approvals by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), even as the government grapples with a ballooning public wage bill.
Data released by the commission shows that Sh36.45 billion—84 percent of the increase—was paid out in the final quarter between April and June, after months of stalled reviews.
The approvals had been delayed earlier in the year when the terms of seven commissioners lapsed, leaving the SRC without a quorum.
“During the financial year 2024/2025, the estimated cost implication of the 289 requests received by SRC from public service institutions was Sh70.95 billion.
Upon evaluation, SRC recommended approvals worth Sh43.19 billion, representing 60.9 percent of the total requests,” the commission said.
The bulk of the increase came from Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), which accounted for Sh34.1 billion, or 93 per cent of the approved amount.
Job evaluation reviews contributed Sh2.04 billion (5.6 percent), while the rest went to allowances, productivity, and performance-related pay structures.
Between April and June alone, SRC handled 174 requests—44 tied to CBAs, 22 on productivity and performance, and 49 on job evaluation and pay structures.
The salary boost comes at a time when inflation has eroded household purchasing power. Consumer prices rose by 4.5 percent in August, the highest level in more than a year, driven by climbing food and transport costs.
SRC defended the adjustments as necessary to shield public servants from the rising cost of living.
However, the move stands in sharp contrast to the private sector, where most employers have frozen salaries amid economic uncertainty and new statutory deductions.
Workers’ net pay has recently been squeezed by contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), and the housing levy.
Meanwhile, questions linger over the sustainability of Kenya’s public wage bill, which is projected to hit Sh1.245 trillion by June 2025.
This would consume 40.6 percent of ordinary revenue, far above the 35 percent ceiling set by the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, leaving fewer resources for development projects.
