Health unions demand action over staff crisis

Health unions under the Health Sector Caucus have condemned what they term ‘abandonment’ of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff by the Ministry of Health.

On Wednesday, they demanded urgent redress for contract issues, delayed gratuity, and violent police action during peaceful protests.

At a press briefing, union leaders accused the government of offloading UHC staff to counties without settling key obligations. These include gratuity payments, transition to permanent and pensionable terms and contract confirmation.

“Twice the government has promised to convert these workers to permanent and pensionable, and twice it has broken that promise,” said Peterson Wachira, chairperson of the Health Sector Caucus and the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO).

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“They cannot be tossed between the Ministry of Health, Council of Governors and Parliament endlessly. It is the ministry that recruited and pays them, it must take responsibility,” Wachira said.

He explained that 8,551 health workers were hired in 2020 to support the UHC rollout, yet six years later, many remain on temporary contracts with no job security.

This, he added, affects their ability to pursue specialisation and undermines quality of healthcare delivery.

The union leaders expressed disappointment in Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who they say initially gave them hope when he took office. “When Mr Duale came in, we believed he would prioritise our needs,” said Pius Nyakundi, Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers.

He added: “But he has not kept his word and is now following the same path as his predecessors.”

They also criticised Duale’s request for unions to lobby Parliament for increased health sector funding, stating that budgeting is the government’s responsibility.

“It is not the job as unions to push Parliament for allocations. That is the role of the ministry and Treasury,” added Nyakundi.

They also raised alarm over the 97 Global Fund staff, clinical and laboratory officers, who were promised absorption after years of service but have now gone 11 months without pay. “One, a lady from Nyeri, took her life due to stress. This is a matter of life and death,” said Wachira.

According to the unions, those who served under the national government were absorbed and are earning regular salaries, while those posted to counties have been left out, a situation they say is discriminatory.

The unions further condemned the use of force during peaceful demonstrations held on Tuesday. At least four protesters were injured, including a female health worker hit by a teargas canister.

“The police brutality was unjustified. These are peaceful healthcare workers exercising their right to picket under Article 37. Why respond with violence?,” posed Odipo Nicholas, chair KNUMLO.