Civil servants have opposed a new salary structure issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), arguing that it interferes with ongoing negotiations for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Kenya Civil Servants Union Secretary General Lawrence Ochieng said the salary review was introduced before negotiations between the government and the union had been concluded, warning that the move could trigger a legal challenge.
According to the union, the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Public Service submitted the salary proposal to the SRC before the collective bargaining process was complete.
“We have not signed any CBA to make any approval. The negotiations are still ongoing,” Ochieng said, maintaining that a new salary framework should not be implemented before the talks are concluded.
The union further claimed that the SRC acted prematurely by issuing its July 17, 2026 circular without a signed agreement between the negotiating parties.
Ochieng said the negotiations began after the union wrote to the Principal Secretary on April 20, 2026, requesting the convening of a Collective Negotiating Council meeting. He added that discussions were still underway when the union submitted revised proposals on salaries and allowances on July 14.
The union said it had endorsed the government’s lump-sum pay package covering the period up to 2028 but proposed bringing forward the 2027/28 salary increase to July 2026 to accelerate pay harmonisation and provide faster relief to employees in lower salary brackets.
Under the union’s proposal, the minimum basic salary would rise from Sh18,700 to Sh25,600, while the minimum salary for CSG 17 and SCG 4 would increase from Sh185,690 to Sh215,802. The union also proposed raising the minimum house allowance from Sh2,700 to Sh6,075 and increasing commuter allowance from Sh3,000 to Sh4,800.
The union argued that the adjustments announced by the SRC amounted only to routine annual increments rather than the substantive salary increases employees had anticipated.
“What has been published by SRC are mere annual increments and not the real salary increase that public servants expected,” Ochieng said.
The union has called on the government to suspend implementation of the SRC circular until consultations are completed and a CBA is signed. It also warned that it may seek court intervention to stop the rollout of the proposed salary structure.
The dispute has renewed debate over the role of collective bargaining in determining public sector pay, with the union insisting that remuneration decisions should be reached through negotiations with employees’ representatives.
– Salome Thiani
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