City Hall to spend Sh99m in promotion of 2,153 health workers

The county government has approved the promotion of 2,152 health workers across all cadres at a cost of Sh99 million in the first phase. 

Acting Health county executive Vesca Kangogo on Tuesday said that Governor Mike Sonko had directed that the promotions and deployment be effected in a week. 

The implementation of the directive will cost the county Sh130 million.

As part of the directive, all health officers whose job titles do not match with their current designation will be re-designated.

In a move that has averted a planned strike by nurses and clinical officers, City Hall has struck a deal with their unions.

The Kenya Clinical Officers Union and the Kenya National Union of Nurses had given a seven-day strike notice which was to lapse on Monday midnight.

But on Friday last week, the county executive and the County Public Service Board met with representatives from the two unions. 

The promotions and re-designations are to be done per the scheme of service in the public service sector.

The health workers had blamed the Nairobi county government of allegedly ignoring their plight despite engaging in negotiations.

They questioned why they had not been paid yet the county assembly had passed a budget approving clearance of their outstanding allowances.

Already,  1,500 letters of promotions have been processed and can be picked by the workers at City Hall.

Kangogo said that for Sh31 million, an additional 600 health workers are set to be promoted through a competitive process in the second phase.

"We have positions like the director of medical services which will be filled competitively through vacancy advertisement and availability of a budget," Kangogo said.

The county executive gave credit to the biometric registration of county workers for making the verification of the process easier.

The County Public Service Board chairman Mohamed Abdikadir said the standoff between the Senate and Parliament on the Division of Revenue Bill had stalled its operations.

Abdikadir said that the board was also finding it difficult to harmonise the three types of health workers who have different terms and condition of services

There are nurses seconded from the national government under the Public Service terms, others from the defunct City Council had a CBA and those employed in 2013 have SRC contracts.

“These are people doing the same work but with three different terms and conditions of service. They all have grievances on allowances which the county is working on," Abdikadir explained.

He, however, said the board was considering all grievances of the health workers as a matter of urgency.  

“As a board, we look at issues affecting the entire staff of the county and this is a process that goes on daily. On this issue, we acted as per the provisions of the County Government Act," Abdikadir said.

The county called upon nurses who have gone on strike to return to work because what they raised in their notice has been addressed.

“We are asking those who did not report to work to do so as we continue looking at other issues that have been raised in the past,” Kangogo said.

(edited by O. Owino)