Civil servants have every reason to smile after the public salaries agency reviewed their house allowances upwards.
In a circular, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission awarded Nairobi-based civil servants enhanced House allowances.
Those in job group K, for example, will now receive Sh16,500 monthly house allowance, up from Sh10,000.
Housing Allowance for Nairobi-based drivers, personal secretaries, cleaners and messengers all in Job Group A will receive Sh3,750 a month up from Sh3,000.
“The new rates for the house allowances shall apply to all public officers, other than state officers at the national and county government, including state corporations from the scheduled effective date of implementation,” SRC said in a circular.
"Respective employers in the civil service should initiate Collective Bargaining Agreements with the relevant trade unions in the implementation of the reviewed/harmonised herein.”
Civil servants working in all other former major municipalities, including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi and Kitale, will also earn enhanced allowances.
Civil servants in job group K based in the nine former municipalities will see their allowance rise to Sh12,000 up from Sh8,000.
Those in the same Job Group but serving in former municipalities will draw Sh5,800, an increase from Sh3,500.
Civil servants have been under pressure for housing amid surges in rental charges for both public and private sector-owned units.
Meanwhile, civil servants will now receive uniform hardship allowance.
This is after the SRC abolished a system where such payouts were based on basic salary.
“Hardship allowance is to be paid at a flat rate for all equivalent grades across the public service, both county and national government. SRC has abolished pegging the allowance as a percentage of the basic salary” the commission said.
The lowest-ranking officers in Job Group A will draw a uniform hardship allowance of Sh2,800 a month while the highest-ranked job group T will draw Sh60,000.
Mid-tier officers in job groups K, L and M will get Sh10,900, Sh12,300 and Sh14,650, respectively.
