Resolutions of the National Wage Bill Conference

The Key Note address was delivered by the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender, on behalf of H.E. the President, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta. He thanked Kenyans for acknowledging that public service remuneration policy and practice has critical implications on the country’s development, and that the size of the wage bill has an impact on the performance of the national economy and the quality of life of the citizens.

In his speech, the President lauded SRC for defending the country’s’ public wage bill which has reduced wage bill as a percentage of revenue from 57.33% to 48.1% from 2013/2014 to 2018/2019. At the same time, he challenged SRC to make resolutions that would ensure public sector wage bill is sustainable while enhancing productivity and quality of work.

On behalf of the County Governments, the Chairperson, Council of Governors Hon. Wycliffe Oparanya received the resolutions and challenged Kenya as country to implement the resolutions. “We are good at making resolutions, the problem is implementation. I hope all leaders who are here are committed to execute and improve on these resolutions,” he stated.

The conference resolutions were prepared by various actors among them Head of Public Service; Council of Governors; The National Treasury; Ministry of Public Service, Youth & Gender;  Ministry of Labour & Social Protection; Ministry of Health; Salaries and Remuneration Commission; Public Service Commission; Teachers Service Commission; Commission on Revenue Allocation; Office of Controller of Budget; Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis; Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC). The resolutions are as follows:

1. Develop a comprehensive national performance management policy to streamline and standardize public sector performance management at National and County government levels.
2. Develop a National Productivity Policy to measure productivity of the public sector within the performance management implementation framework.
3. Develop a Public Sector Productivity Index to be piloted in the Health, Teachers Service Commission and in selected state corporations and thereafter roll out to other sectors.
4. Strengthen institutional capacity of the National Productivity and Competitiveness Centre (NPCC) to discharge its mandate of promoting productivity management to enhance the Country’s economic growth and competitiveness, and to broaden the scope to cover both National and County Governments.
5. Review the Public Sector Remuneration and Benefits Policy to facilitate rewarding productivity and stronger wage bill control, while ensuring wages are competitive, equitable and transparent.
6. Develop a policy framework for streamlining the management of allowances to improve transparency, accountability, equity and fairness of pay.
7. Align the Labour Relations Act and the Industrial Relations Charter to Article 24 (Limitation of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms), Article 41 (Labour Relations)   and Article 43 (Economic and Social Rights) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 as well as ILO Convention 150 (Labour administration) to protect the right to essential services and the right to industrial action.
8. Establish a framework and standing sectoral Collective Bargaining Negotiation committees to represent both National and County Governments as employers in collective bargaining.
9. Institutionalize Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms at National and County Governments to promote amicable resolution of disputes to preserve harmonious labour relations and mitigate disruption of service delivery.
10. Develop a National Pensions Policy and further, consolidate and harmonize the public service pension laws at National and County Governments’ level.
11. Gazette the commencement date for the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSSS) Act of 2012, and set up a multi-sectoral team to oversee implementation.
12. Rationalize organizational structures at National and County Governments to align with mandates and functions, and establish optimal staffing levels.
13. Establish an intergovernmental agreement to facilitate optimal utilization and management of health workers.
14. Develop and embed a culture that promotes the National Values with emphasis on Leadership Accountability, Productivity, Service to the Nation and a strong work ethic.
15. Constitute an intergovernmental multi-agency team to implement the agreed resolutions. The team will develop a monitoring and evaluation framework.