Leaders of healthcare workers’ unions address the media in Nairobi to announce a nationwide strike, citing the failure by county governments to absorb Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff into permanent and pensionable employment despite the availability of funding.
By Peace Muthoka
NAIROBI, Kenya — Healthcare workers across Kenya have officially begun a nationwide strike after accusing county governments of failing to honour commitments to absorb more than 7,450 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers into permanent and pensionable employment despite funds having already been allocated.
Addressing the media in Nairobi, Health Unions Caucus Chairperson and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) National Chairperson Peterson Wachira said the industrial action followed weeks of unsuccessful attempts to persuade county governments to implement agreements reached with the national government.
Wachira said healthcare unions first issued a 21-day demand notice on June 15, followed by a 14-day strike notice on July 6, giving governors sufficient time to fulfil their obligations. However, he noted that no meaningful action had been taken by the time the notices expired.
“As of today, more than 7,450 UHC workers have no salaries, no medical cover and no formal employment status despite funds having been set aside for their absorption,” Wachira said.
He acknowledged the efforts made by President William Ruto, the Ministry of Health and Parliament in facilitating the budget required to transition UHC workers to permanent and pensionable terms. However, he blamed county governments for delaying implementation, saying they had become the weakest link in the country’s healthcare system.
Wachira argued that the recurring labour disputes exposed serious weaknesses in the management of healthcare personnel under the devolved system. While maintaining that the unions were not seeking to reverse devolution, he called for a national conversation on establishing a Health Service Commission or adopting another constitutional mechanism to centralise the management of healthcare workers.
He cited Article 189 of the Constitution, which allows the national and county governments to jointly manage shared functions, as one possible solution to the ongoing human resource challenges in the health sector.
The Health Unions Caucus chairperson further announced that healthcare workers from different professional bodies, including clinical officers, biomedical engineers, medical laboratory officers, nutritionists, dietitians, pharmaceutical technologists and public health officers, would stage peaceful demonstrations in Nairobi on Wednesday. The march will proceed to the Council of Governors and Parliament, while workers in all 47 counties report daily to governors’ offices and county assemblies until their demands are met.
Meanwhile, Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEHPHPU) Secretary-General Brown Ashira accused county governments of failing to effectively manage the country’s healthcare workforce, saying the continued employment uncertainty facing UHC workers had exposed deep weaknesses within the devolved health system.
Ashira said the strike was not caused by a lack of funding, noting that Parliament had already approved the necessary budget following sustained lobbying by healthcare unions, the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health, the National Treasury and the Ministry of Health.
“The question is no longer whether the money is available. It is why county governments have failed to issue permanent and pensionable appointment letters to these healthcare workers,” he said.
He argued that healthcare should never become a political issue, warning that disruptions across public health facilities in all 47 counties would directly affect millions of Kenyans who rely on government hospitals for treatment.
Ashira also criticised county governments for failing to sign Recognition Agreements (RAs) and conclude Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) with healthcare unions despite the unions meeting the legal requirements under the Labour Relations Act, 2007. He called for the establishment of a centralised framework to negotiate labour agreements uniformly across all counties.
Adding his voice to the dispute, Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) National Chairperson Nicholas Odipo accused governors of frustrating the implementation of agreements intended to secure the future of UHC workers.
Odipo said healthcare unions had spent more than two years lobbying Parliament to allocate funds for the workers’ absorption, making the current stalemate difficult to justify.
“It has now been 20 days since the contracts of UHC workers expired, yet county governments have failed to issue appointment letters confirming them to permanent and pensionable terms,” he said.
He described the delay as a demonstration of a lack of empathy towards healthcare workers who had served the country faithfully, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. He further questioned why county healthcare workers had been left out of recent salary reviews by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) while national government employees benefited.
Odipo maintained that healthcare workers had not chosen to go on strike willingly but had been compelled by the continued failure of county governments to honour their commitments.
The unions insisted that the industrial action would continue until every eligible UHC worker receives a permanent and pensionable appointment letter, warning that public healthcare services across the country would remain significantly disrupted until a lasting solution is reached.
