NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 – Health unions have blamed county governments for the ongoing nationwide strike by Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers, accusing governors of failing to implement a Sh8.9 billion budget allocation meant to transition thousands of healthcare workers to permanent and pensionable terms.
The strike, now in its third day, has seen members of the Health Unions Caucus stage demonstrations in Nairobi, demanding the implementation of employment agreements, issuance of permanent and pensionable appointment letters, inclusion of UHC workers in the July payroll, and the signing of recognition agreements.
The demonstrators marched from Greenpark Terminus to the Nairobi City County Assembly before proceeding to the Council of Governors headquarters, where they called on county governments to implement existing court decisions and national directives on the employment of UHC workers.
Speaking during the demonstrations, Peterson Wachira, National Chairperson of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) and Chairperson of the Health Unions Caucus, faulted governors for what he described as continued inaction despite the availability of funds.
“Despite ourselves having demonstrated for more than six months and gotten a budgetary allocation of Sh8.9 billion to confirm the Universal Health Coverage staff on permanent and pensionable terms, the governors have refused to do so. And we say the governors because it is very clear that it’s the County Public Service Boards that are supposed to do this,” Wachira said.
The unions say county governments have ignored court rulings directing them to convert UHC workers’ contracts to permanent and pensionable terms.
Wachira described the strike as a protest against neglect by county administrations.
“This is a strike against neglect, against inaction by the county governments on what they should do, and we are saying that it is a self-indictment on the counties that the weight of the health function has become too heavy for them to bear,” he said.
He argued that poor welfare for health workers directly affects the quality of healthcare services.
“There is no way you would expect somebody to provide quality health when their welfare is not taken care of. This person will be anxious, this person will be stressed, this person will be fatigued, this person is going to have mental clouding. They cannot provide the best quality of care to their patients,” he added.
Austin Oduor, Deputy Secretary General of KUCO, said the strike would continue until UHC workers receive formal appointment letters confirming their permanent and pensionable employment.
“From here, the only salvation is the Cabinet Secretary for Health to give us those letters in consultation with the President of the Republic of Kenya. We will not go back to work until we get those blue, green, nice papers signed by the Public Service Commission CEO,” Oduor said.
Responding to the strike, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale maintained that employment matters affecting UHC workers are the responsibility of county governments.
“So I know there is a strike in a number of counties. But that is not my space. You should put to the Council of Governors,” Duale said.
He added that the Ministry of Health had already transferred payroll funds to facilitate the workers’ transition.
“On UHC, there is no crisis. I have just talked to them. I have transferred their payroll as permanent and pensionable,” he said.
Meanwhile, the strike continues to disrupt healthcare services in several counties, with patients reporting difficulties accessing treatment as unions insist they will only return to work once their demands are fully addressed.
