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County Public Service Boards want their salaries to match those of members of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The boards of the 47 counties have sued Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) arguing their functions mirror those of the Public Service Commission and they should get similar pay.

The PSC chairperson earns Sh765,188 while County Public Service Board chairperson earns Sh313,000. PSC board members earn Sh650,000  while members of the County Board earn Sh232,950.

In their petition, which they have filed under the County Public Service Boards National Consultative Forum, they want SRC to set and advise on remuneration for the members of Boards at the rate of that for members of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

State officers

They accuse SRC of acting unconstitutionally by usurping the mandate of the County Public Service Boards and purporting to set the remuneration and benefits of officers in the county public service.

“SRC has failed despite numerous memoranda from the Boards and their proxies, to properly differentiate between state officers at the county level vis-a-vis officers of county public service,” they argue in court documents.

Similar functions

It is their case, they say that they are state officers and SRC discriminated against them by lumping them together, for remuneration purposes, with other officers of the county public service.

They also accuse SRC, which is chaired by Lyn Mengich (pictured) of discriminating against them by offering them lower remuneration packages in comparison to members of PSC, even though they perform similar functions.

“The County Public Service Board mirrors the Public Service Commission…the Public Service Commission is mandated, at the National Level, to establish and abolish offices, provide competent human resources, promote good governance, and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of quality services in the public service. The County Public Service performs the exact functions, albeit at the County Level,” they say in court documents.

 They contend that both the Public Service Commission and the County Public Service Board have a chairperson and vice-chair, members and a secretary.