Health workers across Kenya have begun a nationwide strike after talks over the absorption of 7,450 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff into permanent and pensionable employment collapsed.
The strike, which started at midnight on Monday, was announced by the Health Union Caucus, a coalition of seven health sector unions, which accused county governments of failing to implement a presidential directive despite Parliament allocating funds for the transition.
Addressing the press in Nairobi, Health Union Caucus Chairman and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) National Chairperson Peterson Washira said the unions had exhausted all avenues for dialogue before calling the industrial action.
“We issued a 21-day demand notice on June 15, followed by a 14-day strike notice on July 6. We also held several meetings and press briefings, but county governments failed to act, leaving us with no option but to withdraw our labour,” said Mr Washira.
He said the affected UHC workers are currently without employment contracts after their terms expired on June 30, adding that they have not received July salaries, have no medical cover and remain uncertain about their future despite the availability of funds for their absorption.
Mr Washira commended President William Ruto, the Ministry of Health and Parliament for facilitating the budget required to employ the workers on permanent and pensionable terms, but faulted county governments for failing to issue appointment letters.
“The national government has fulfilled its responsibility. The money is available. The delay is now at the county level, where governors have failed to implement the agreement,” he said.
He said the crisis had exposed weaknesses in the management of human resources under the devolved health system, calling for a national conversation on establishing a Health Service Commission or another constitutional mechanism to jointly manage healthcare workers.
The unions also announced nationwide demonstrations on Wednesday, when health workers will march to the Council of Governors and Parliament to demand immediate implementation of the agreement. At the county level, striking workers said they would report daily to governors’ offices and county assemblies until their grievances are addressed.
Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union Secretary-General Brown Ashira said governors had failed to manage the country’s health workforce, arguing that healthcare personnel should be managed centrally while counties continue running health facilities.
Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers National Chairman Nicholas Odipo accused governors of frustrating implementation of the UHC programme despite the availability of funds, saying the unions would continue pushing for the transfer of health workforce management to the national government.
Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists Secretary-General Ronald Kodwoor said the strike was unavoidable, describing the treatment of UHC workers, many of whom served on the frontlines during the Covid-19 pandemic, as unfair.
Assistant Secretary-General of the National Union of Biomedical Engineers of Kenya Ammon Matara warned that the withdrawal of biomedical engineering services would significantly disrupt operations in public hospitals.
Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers Secretary-General Pius Nyakundi maintained that the dispute was no longer about funding but the failure by county governments to issue permanent and pensionable appointment letters despite the money having been allocated.
The Health Union Caucus brings together the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO), the Kenya Union of Nutritionists and Dieticians (KUNAD), the Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists (KNUPT), the Kenya Health Professionals Society (KHPS), the Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEHPHPU), and the National Union of Biomedical Engineers of Kenya.
The unions said the strike will remain in force until all UHC workers are absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms and other outstanding labour issues, including recognition agreements and collective bargaining agreements, are resolved.
