Court clears new civil servants’ salary structure ahead of August pay
Employment and Labour Relations Court has declined to stop the implementation of the new salary structure for civil servants
The Employment and Labour Relations Court has declined to stop the implementation of the new salary structure for civil servants, dismissing a bid by the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) to halt the changes pending the conclusion of collective bargaining negotiations.
Lady Justice Jemimah Keli dismissed the union’s application seeking conservatory orders to prevent the revised remuneration structure from being implemented through the August 2026 government payroll.
The union had moved to court after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) issued a circular dated July 17, 2026, advising on a revised remuneration structure for civil servants under Phase II of the fourth remuneration and benefits review cycle covering 2025/26 to 2028/29.
UKCS argued that the revised structure had been developed and announced without involving the union in collective bargaining, despite its earlier requests to resume negotiations for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The union told the court that it had written to the State Department for Public Service and Human Capital Development on April 20 seeking the resumption of negotiations before submitting its reviewed CBA proposals on July 14.
According to the union, its requests were not acted upon before the government proceeded with the salary review, which was announced on July 18 and 19 and scheduled for implementation through the August payroll.
The union argued that implementing the new structure before the CBA was concluded would undermine its members’ constitutional right to collective bargaining and leave little room for meaningful negotiations.
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The government and SRC opposed the application, arguing that the commission had acted within its constitutional and statutory mandate and that its advice expressly directed that the salary structure for unionisable employees be implemented through the collective bargaining process.
The SRC also told the court that the current salary review was part of a four-year cycle and had been undertaken within a budget ceiling of Ksh2.065 billion for the 2026/27 financial year.
In dismissing the application, Justice Keli found that the regulations required the government to obtain SRC’s advice before commencing collective bargaining negotiations, rather than requiring the union to participate in the internal process through which the government and SRC developed the salary structure.
The judge further found that SRC’s July 17 advice complied with the 2026 regulations because it expressly provided that the salary structure for unionisable staff should be implemented through the collective bargaining process.
The court therefore dismissed the application, declining to issue conservatory orders against the implementation of the revised remuneration structure.
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