Civil servants fight to strip PSC of promotion powers in court case

PSC's Commission House Headquarters on Harambee Avenue, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

Civil servants are now seeking to strip the Public Service Commission(PSC) of promotion powers and hand it over to Principal Secretaries(PSs) of respective ministries.

The Union of Kenya Civil Servants has moved to the Employment and Labour Relations Court seeking to stop PSC from advertising, shortlisting, interviewing and promoting civil servants, arguing that the commission has overstepped its constitutional mandate.

In a petition filed under a certificate of urgency, the union wants the court to suspend all ongoing and planned promotions across National Government Ministries and State Departments pending the hearing of the case.

The suit, filed against the Public Service Commission and the Attorney General, argues that PSC’s role under Article 234 of the Constitution is limited to appointments and broader oversight of the public service, while the day-to-day administration of Schemes of Service, including internal career progression and promotions, should be undertaken by Principal Secretaries as authorised officers.

The union is asking the court to issue conservatory orders stopping PSC from publishing advertisements, shortlisting candidates, conducting interviews, issuing promotion letters and implementing promotions within State departments until the petition is determined.

It also wants the court to restrain the commission from “interfering with, overriding, impeding, obstructing, delaying or usurping” the human resource management functions exercised by Principal Secretaries under various Schemes of Service.

According to the petition, PSC has allegedly “unlawfully taken over the administration of Schemes of Service from Principal Secretaries” contrary to the Constitution and statutory provisions.

“The 1st Respondent has unlawfully taken over the administration of Schemes of Service from Principal Secretaries, contrary to constitutional and statutory provisions,” the union states in court documents.

The union further claims that the commission has been advertising vacancies that should ordinarily be filled through internal promotions, thereby denying qualified serving officers opportunities for career progression.

It argues that PSC has “advertised fresh vacancies in place of promotions,” allowing external candidates to compete for positions traditionally reserved for internal progression.

“The 1st Respondent has advertised vacancies in place of internal promotions, allowing consideration of inexperienced persons and directly discriminating against qualified civil servants who have a legitimate expectation of predictable career progression under Schemes of Service,” the petition reads.

Unilateral

The union also accuses the commission of promoting unqualified officers, excluding deserving civil servants and introducing external entrants into cadres reserved for internal progression.

According to the court papers, the commission has “systematically promoted unqualified persons, omitted eligible officers from rightful promotions, introduced external entrants into cadres strictly reserved for internal progression and effected irregular promotions throughout the public service.”

The union says the commission has been making promotion decisions through unilateral administrative circulars without consulting stakeholders or Principal Secretaries.

The petition comes at a time when the government has been implementing public service reforms.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court is expected to determine whether to grant interim conservatory orders before hearing the substantive con