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The Ministry of Labour has scheduled a meeting with clinical officers on Tuesday, April 30, in an effort to end their ongoing strike.
The invite addressed to Kenya Union of Clinical Officers SG George Gibore comes after the court ordered that both parties convene a negotiation meeting.
Clinicians downed their tools on April 1 over several grievances which are yet to be addressed by the two levels of government.
The letter signed by Hellen Apiyo on behalf of the Commissioner for Labour is copied to the Council of Governors CEO and the principal judge of, Employment and Labour Relations Court.
The court order dated April 22 issued by Justice Byram Ongaya directed that the parties convene a conciliation or negotiation meeting to facilitate a compromise.
“In view of that order, I have scheduled a conciliation/negotiation meeting in this office to be held on April 30, 2024, at 10 am. The venue is NSSF building block A, boardroom,” Apiyo said.
“By copy of this letter, the Chief Executive Officer, Council of Governors is notified and invited to attend,” she added.
KUCO union officials are also expected to appear before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health on Friday (today) to deliberate on the strike.
They are demanding that the national and county governments issue confirmation letters on permanent and pensionable terms to UHC staff hired during the Covid-19 period and to national TB programme clinicians and all members currently on contractual terms.
They also want the national government and counties to recruit more than 20,000 unemployed and qualified clinical officers to cover the existing shortage.
The union also demands the government provide comprehensive medical cover for all actively serving clinical officers in the public sector so they can access services wherever they need them.
Speaking when he officially declared the strike as being on, Gibore said the action was taken after prolonged neglect by the government in addressing critical issues affecting clinical officers.
The union wants the Ministry of Health and CoG to finalise the Collective Bargaining Agreement which was initiated in 2017 but has since stalled despite various court orders.
They are further protesting that there is no career progression amongst their members and saying some of the clinicians have gone for a long time without promotions and redesignation.
“Some have not seen promotion or even redesignation since devolution began,” Gibore said.
Their strike together with that of the doctors has left thousands of patients across the country suffering.
The effort by the government to strike a deal with the doctors hit a dead end this week.
by MAGDALINE SAYA