SRC turns focus to productivity as Kenya seeks to rein in public wage bill

Kenya is prioritising labour productivity to address its growing public wage bill, aiming to reduce the cost of its public workforce to a 35 per cent ratio of ordinary revenue. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has recommended adopting productivity as a key strategy for achieving this goal, following a meeting of the steering committee at the Third National Wage Bill Conference.

The SRC also plans to host the First National Productivity Conference in 2026, bringing together stakeholders to discuss ways to improve productivity and develop action plans. The push for productivity comes as Kenya's wage-bill-to-ordinary-revenue ratio remains above the statutory target, currently at 43.3 per cent in the 2023/2024 financial year and estimated at 40.4 per cent in 2024/2025.

The increase in public-sector employment, which rose to 1.023 million people in 2024, adds to the pressure on the wage bill, making labour productivity a crucial component in the debate.

Brief written by urgent.news from People Daily Kenya's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.