The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has unveiled plans to overhaul civil servants' wage bill, through the introduction of performance-based contracts, a new allowances structure, and real-time monitoring of payroll processing.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking on Tuesday, June 16, SRC Chairperson Sammy Chepkwony said the commission is working with the relevant government agencies to align workers’ pay with their productivity, drawing lessons from countries such as Singapore.

Chepkwony revealed that the government is considering a model in which an employee's earnings are tied directly to their performance, allowing more productive workers to earn more.

“When the President said we are moving to Singapore, I personally went there and looked at how they pay their workers. Surprisingly, they do not have things like automatic payment processes, which we have here in Kenya,” he said.

📌 What You Need to Know

He explained that in Singapore, between 40 and 50 per cent of an employee's total salary is based on variable pay, meaning workers who perform better earn more than those who only meet minimum requirements.

“The more you produce, the more you get paid. If you sit back and do the minimum, the person who is doing more earns better than you and almost doubles your salary,” Chepkwony stated.

According to the SRC boss, the commission wants to introduce similar performance-based contracts in Kenya's public service as part of the efforts to improve productivity in government institutions.

Chepkwony also reiterated the need for merit-based recruitment in the public sector, noting that the government already has systems to support fair and transparent hiring.

At the same time, SRC is streamlining allowances , with Chepkwony revealing that the commission has already completed the first two phases of the exercise and is now focusing on institution-specific allowances.

Under the proposed changes, SRC will assess whether certain allowances are necessary or whether they are already factored into an employee's job grade and salary structure.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke