SRC approves Ksh.32.21 Billion in wage bill requests

In a statement issued on Friday, the SRC received 79 requests totalling Ksh.52.02 billion from various public institutions during FY 2023/2024, a substantial rise from the Ksh.8.18 billion requested in FY 2022/2023.

Among these, 11% were for Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) reviews, 79% for allowances and benefits, 6% for bonus requests, and 4% for salary reviews.

In the fourth quarter alone, the SRC approved Ksh.2.52 billion of the Ksh.5.46 billion requested by public service institutions, marking an approval rate of 46.21%.

This high approval rate is largely attributed to the SRC’s advice on CBAs for various unions including the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU), and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) for the 2021-2025 cycle.

County expenditure on Personnel Emoluments (PE) for the fourth quarter of FY 2023/2024 is estimated at Ksh.53.42 billion, an increase from Ksh.48.4 billion in the third quarter but a decrease from Ksh.59.24 billion in the same period last year. This indicates that county government expenditure on the wage bill, as a share of revenue, remains above the PFM Regulations, 2015, threshold of 35%.

The national government’s PE, excluding the national security sector and CFS, is estimated to rise from 25.51% in the third quarter to 23.54% in the fourth quarter.

Ordinary tax revenue dropped from Ksh.484.22 billion in the third quarter to Ksh. 471.1 billion in the fourth quarter, increasing the wage bill to ordinary revenue ratio from 29.92% to 34.73%, just below the 35% threshold set by the PFM Act, 2012, and PFM Regulations, 2015.