This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
According to a recent analysis by ICEA Lion Asset Management, the average annual increase in public sector wages between 2013 and 2018 was 5.5 per cent, which is slightly below the average inflation rate of 6.5 per cent over the same period.
This means that while the government's efforts to control the ballooning wage bill have been successful, the campaign has had an unintended consequence: civil servants are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.
On the other hand, workers in the private sector have been better protected against inflation, with their wages rising faster than average inflation during this period.
As of last year, average annual wages in the private sector had surpassed those in the public sector, which had been lower in 2014.
ICEA Lion Asset Management's head of research, Judd Murigi, noted that average private sector wage increments have beaten average inflation over the last five years, while average public sector wage increments have lagged behind average inflation over the same period.
The government has attributed the depressed earnings in the public sector to its efforts to control the wage bill, which it says has been taking a significant portion of the country's tax revenues.
The government has frozen new employment and promotions except for critical sectors such as security, health, and education, and has implemented other measures to contain the public wage bill.
