Lyn Mengich: Why teachers got biggest share of SRC salary increase

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was allocated the lion share of the Ksh.21.7 billion salary budget for the year 2023/2024.

According to Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) chairperson Lyn Mengich, the significant increment in pay for teachers is in line with the commission’s goal to harmonise pay for state and public officers.

Ranked at the 36th percentile in the average Current Gross Market, teachers are the lowest earners among civil servants in Kenya.

Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Spice FM, Mengich said the review of teachers’ salaries is aimed at achieving equity and fairness in remuneration.

"We have set a target of the 50th percentile. Meaning that we would like to be in the middle of the market. We then looked at where each sector currently is against that percentile,” Mengich said.

“Teaching Service is at the 36th percentile. That tells you why a large amount was allocated to the Teaching Service. Progressively is to move them towards that (50th percentile) so as to harmonize pay. This pay review is about harmonization of pay. Otherwise, everyone would have gotten a pay increase,” she added.

The SRC chairperson further said the review was in line with market trends and economic situation in the country.

“The reason we do that is because we've got to ensure that the public service can attract and retain the skills to deliver its services. That means the pay must have some relationship with the market trends."

Mengich also addressed the concern of ensuring a fair minimum wage for all public officers, stating that it was one of the priorities in the pay review process.

The new pay structure will be implemented over a two-year period in two phases.

In the latest review, state and public servants got a 7-10% salary increase, which will take effect from July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024.