The largest state employee group on Monday said it was disappointed in Republican legislative leaders who said state workes will receive no payraise this year.

“The Legislature made a promise to the state employees of Kansas to respect the work they do and to reward it with decent pay that workers of the same classifications receive in nearby states,” said Jane Carter, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, which represents more than 11,000 workers.

Carter directed her comments to the issue that has been going on in recent years to raise the pay of some of the lowest paid state workers to the market rate. Carter said 6,000 state employees are paid under the market rate, some as much as 30 percent lower.

On Friday, however, several Republican budget leaders said they doubted the state could come up with the funds needed to provide state employee pay raises.

Lawmakers face an estimated $400 million revenue shortfall in the next fiscal year.