Pay queries as ministry directs counties to employ UHC workers

The Ministry of Health has recommended that the 8,571 contracted health workers hired under the Universal Health Coverage be hired on permanent terms.

They are currently serving three-year contracts mostly in county hospitals but are paid by the Ministry of Health.

They also earn less than permanent employees who do similar work.

Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni wrote to the Public Service Commission to employ the 8,571 health workers by end of June.

“The multiagency taskforce on transition from UHC drawn from the National Treasury, the Public Service Commission, Ministry of Health and Council of Governors met and observed it was no longer tenable to have the UHC staff to continue serving at the present terms as it contravenes the employment laws,” she said in a letter to PSC CEO Simon Rotich.

The directive is likely to be contested by governors, who may be required to pay their salaries.

Muthoni said making them permanent employees will cost Sh7.7 billion a year and the MoH had a budget of Sh4.2 billion for the first year.

She asked the National Treasury to provide an extra Sh3.5 billion to cover the deficit.

“The Public Service Commission is requested to approve absorption of UHC staff into permanent terms of employment by the respective County Public service Boards,” she said.

The workers were hired on three-year contracts in April 2020 to boost the response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as smooth implementation of UHC.

All their contracts were extended by the national government for one year in May and June last year.

However, in a letter dated June 21,last year, CoG CEO Mary Mwiti directed county public service boards to renew the UHC workers’ contracts for three years instead.

She said the decision was based on a letter from the Ministry of Health dated May 31 last year and a virtual meeting held on June 5 last year, between CoG, secretaries to the county public service boards and county chief officers for health.

“In the letter, the CS granted approval for renewal of the contracts for UHC staff for another three years under the same terms,” Mwiti said.

“In the virtual meeting, the council clarified the issues that were not clear and guided the county public service boards to begin the process for the renewal of the UHC staff contracts to enable the procedure to be seamless and avoid service disruption in the health facilities.” 

The UHC workers cover 16 cadres (excluding doctors) at diploma and certificate levels and they earn Sh50,000 and Sh40,000 a month.

This is only half the salary permanently employed nurses earn.

The Kenya National Union of Nurses National chairman Joseph Ngwasi said the union, which represents most of the UHC workers, is keen to see them permanently employed this year.

“The national government issued one-year contracts, but the counties went ahead to give them three-year contracts. But we expect permanent employment after the lapse of the official one year,” he said.

KNUN national secretary Seth Panyako said the nurses will not join the current strike called by doctors and clinical officers.

“We cannot call a national strike because we have more than 48 government employers,” he said.

“We have 47 county government, the national governments and state corporations that employ nurses. Not all grievances can be resolved through strikes.”