•They are now giving the relevant parties 21 days ending September 9 to act on their demands failure to which they will commence a strike on September 10.
•Among the demands, they want health care workers who are pregnant, elderly above 55 years and those with preexisting medical conditions to be excluded from active duty.
Image: COURTESY
Health unions have issued a fresh strike notice to the government after conciliatory meetings initiated by the Labour CS on May 18 stalled.
Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday, officials said despite the unions showing goodwill and compliance by suspending the strike to allow for talks, discussions have remained unfruitful, adding that the Labour ministry has kept on giving excuses.
"The discussions have never moved beyond conciliation table more than 90 days against the agreed time,” the unions said in a joint statement.
They include the Kenya National Union of Nurses, the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, the Kenya Health Professionals Society, the Kenya National Union of Laboratory Officers, the Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists and the Kenya Union of Dietitians.
“The law provides that conciliation is deemed to have failed if more than 30 days have passed without success and allows the union members to go ahead on a protected strike to make sure their rights under Article 41 of the Constitution are protected.”
They are now giving the relevant parties 21 days ending September 9 to act on their demands, failing which they will commence a strike on September 10.
Among the demands, they want health care workers who are pregnant, elderly above 55 years and those with preexisting medical conditions to be excluded from active duty.
Further, they want all contractual engagements terms in the health sector to be converted to permanent and pensionable terms to ensure they are remunerated equally with their colleagues on permanent and pensionable terms.
According to KUCO chairman Peterson Wachira, at least 850 health care workers have been exposed to the virus, and 16 have succumbed as a result.
Wachira noted that all those health care workers who had passed on from the virus belong to the vulnerable groups.
“Since the start of this pandemic, though we have been reaching out to the employer, they have throughout ignored our calls to come to a round table and discuss about the welfare of healthcare workers,” Wachira said.
The situation has been compounded by lack of training, inadequate supply of PPEs and substandard supply of the same, he said.
So far, only about 20 per cent of health care workers have been trained since the start of the pandemic.
While reading the joint statement, KUCO SG George Gibore further noted that health care workers were demotivated due to lack of comprehensive medical cover, life insurance and non-commensurate risk allowance and risk lack of the same for some categories.
“As our colleagues who have succumbed to the disease, none has been compensated so far and there are ni plans for their compensation,” Gibore said.
The SG added: “We cannot negotiate on matters pertaining to the sanctity of the life of our members and colleagues. Allowing the status quo to continue is akin to accepting that it is okay to sacrifice medics when indeed this can be avoided.”
They are also demanding the health risk allowance to be enhanced to Sh20,000 and Covid-19 allowance enhanced, provided to all health workers in active duty irrespective of their nature of engagement and extended to June 2021 or to the end of the outbreak.
“Heath administrative officers and other healthcare workers who were excluded from the Covid-19 emergency allowance be paid immediately.”
Additionally, they want the employment of the additional 10,000 health care workers concluded to replace vulnerable health workers and bridge the shortage.