Unionisable banking staff will get a three per cent pay increase this year year backdated to March following a new collective bargaining agreement .
For 2020, they will receive a four percent pay rise backdated to March 2020.
This follows successful union negotiations for the 2020 to 2023 period, providing enhanced terms and conditions covering over 20,000 unionisable employees within the industry.
At present, the average take home for employees in the finance and insurance sector is Sh76,409 per month. The earnings are set to increase by an average of Sh5340.
Employees covered in the deal include supervisors, clerical staff, technical staff, messengers and drivers.
The pay rise is a major boost for the workers after banks froze salary reviews last year following depressed economic activity at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some lenders closed branches, laid off staff and shifted to digital services to cut back on costs of operations.
The number of staff employed in banks slightly dropped to 31,605 as at the end of December 31 from 32,025 in 2019, industry data shows.
Non-unionisable staff are not covered by the collective bargaining agreement and will be subject to contractual terms of their respective employers.
According to a Kenya Bankers' Association report the country's banking sector has remained sound and stable despite being buffeted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sector’s outlook for 2021 appears stable, supported by adequate capitalisation and liquidity levels.
The outlook seems to be panning out as most banks have declared a huge jump in profits in their half year results.
Equity group posted a 98 per cent profit growth while KCB Group posted a 102 per cent growth in profits.
Cooperative bank's net profit grew 2.3 per cent while Standard Chartered bank posted a 51 per cent jump in earnings.
