Health Workers Accuse County Governments of Negligence as Nationwide Strike Grounds Public Health Services

Health workers' union leaders address journalists during a press briefing, accusing county governments of failing to honour agreements and resolve issues that have led to the nationwide strike.

By: Gladys Karuga

Health workers have intensified their criticism of county governments, accusing them of negligence, inaction and failure to honour agreements as the nationwide strike entered another phase, leaving public health facilities across the country operating at minimal capacity.

Speaking during a joint press briefing, leaders of the Health Union Caucus said county governments had failed to respond to concerns first raised in early June despite being issued with a 14-day strike notice in July. They maintained that more than 60 days later, the Council of Governors (CoG) had yet to invite them for meaningful negotiations, even as healthcare services continued to deteriorate.

Peterson Wachira, Chairperson of the Health Union Caucus and National Chairperson of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, said the unions had exercised patience but county governments had failed to act despite Parliament allocating funds to facilitate the confirmation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers and Global Fund staff into permanent and pensionable terms.

"There has been a lot of negligence, inaction and impunity, especially from the county governments. More than 60 days after we first raised these issues, the Council of Governors is yet to formally invite us for any meaningful discussion," Wachira said.

He acknowledged the Ministry of Health, led by Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, for engaging the unions and making progress on some of their concerns, including payment of salaries and efforts to convert UHC workers into permanent and pensionable terms. However, he said the process remained incomplete because county governments had failed to issue the required appointment letters despite receiving the necessary funding.

Wachira noted that the strike had crippled healthcare delivery across the country, saying nurses, clinical officers, laboratory officers and public health officers had all withdrawn their services, leaving only doctors largely outside the industrial action.

"It's only the doctors who are not on strike. The nurses, clinical officers, laboratory officers and public health officers are all on strike, and facilities are not working. But the governors do not see any problem with it," he said.

The union leaders argued that counties had failed to uphold their constitutional obligation to provide quality healthcare, forcing the national government to repeatedly intervene, including during the rollout of Universal Health Coverage and the COVID-19 pandemic when thousands of healthcare workers were recruited and deployed to counties.

The officials said many of those workers remain on contract despite previous commitments to absorb them into permanent and pensionable employment.

Addressing the same briefing, Nicholas Odipo of the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO), said the continued stalemate demonstrated that county governments had failed in managing healthcare services and should consider allowing the national government to take over the sector.

"The weight of delivering quality healthcare services to the citizens of Kenya is too heavy for county governments to bear. It is time they admitted they cannot manage healthcare services and allow the health sector to revert to the national government," Odipo said.

He added that healthcare services had steadily declined over the years because of poor management and accused some governors of politicising labour issues instead of implementing national health policies, career progression guidelines and agreements reached with healthcare workers.

Odipo also faulted counties for delaying the confirmation of UHC and Global Fund workers despite funds having already been allocated, insisting that career guidelines were national policy documents that counties were obligated to implement.

The union said healthcare workers had fulfilled their responsibilities and were only demanding implementation of commitments already made by the government and urged county governments to immediately issue confirmation letters to UHC workers, saying the prolonged delays had left thousands of healthcare workers uncertain about their future despite years of service.

The unions further accused county governments of failing to implement Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), delaying payment of gratuities owed to UHC and Global Fund staff and ignoring career progression guidelines that had already been agreed upon.

They warned that the strike would continue until all outstanding issues were resolved, including confirmation of UHC and Global Fund workers into permanent and pensionable terms, payment of pending dues, implementation of signed CBAs and issuance of the required employment letters.

The health workers also appealed to Kenyans to hold elected leaders accountable for the state of public healthcare, arguing that the crisis had exposed deep structural challenges in the devolved health system.

They maintained that the industrial action was not politically motivated but was intended to safeguard public healthcare by ensuring health workers receive fair treatment and that public hospitals are adequately staffed and equipped to serve millions of Kenyans who rely on them