Prison warders win pay rise backdated to July 1
Kenya Prisons Service officers will this month get a pay rise backdated to July 1 this year, the Commissioner General Wycliffe Ogallo announced yesterday.
This will be the fourth phase of the ongoing salaries and allowances increment by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
The increase, between 6 and 19 percent, is part of the new grading system that was approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to harmonise prison staff pay with that of the National Police Service (NPS).
In the new ranking system, the CG is in pay Grade 14 and job Group U while the DCG is in Grade 13 and job Group T.
To align the two salaries structures, the Kenya Prisons Service was forced to collapse two ranks -Senior Assistant Commissioner and Senior Deputy Commissioner of Prisons –reducing the ranks from 16 to 14.
Ogalo made the announcement during the Prisons thanksgiving event at the headquarters, Magereza House.
The Prisons boss revealed that the service had a challenging year due to among other issues, the Covid-19 pandemic both at the headquarters and various prisons across the country.
At one point, the Deputy Commissioner General Florence Momanyi revealed, a few other senior staff house tested positive for Covid-19 forcing the headquarters to be closed for two weeks.
“As we come to the end of what has been an incredibly difficult year, let us exercise caution more so when we interact with our families during this festivity and beyond,” Ogallo said.
“You will all agree with me that our work entails a lot of sacrifice and selfless dedication and in the process, we have been unfortunate and have sadly lost some of our brave men and women,” he added.
The service had earlier announced a new round of promotions seeking to upgrade 790 wardens to the positions of non-commissioned officers.
