Secondary school teachers in Embu have issued a seven-day strike notice over failure by the Teachers Service Commission to remit medical cover deductions to hospitals.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers Embu branch accused the employer of failing to remit their monthly deductions to their health insurer, AON Minet, for the last nine months.
The teachers and their dependents have been denied services in hospitals.
Kuppet Embu branch secretary general Jacob Karura said many of their members have been denied services in their accredited hospitals or get substandard services.
Additionally, Karura said others were asked to foot the bills from their own pockets, forcing some to hold fundraisers to finance treatment, especially those with terminal illnesses.
Speaking at a press briefing in Embu town on Saturday, Karura said they had complained to TSC through several letters but had not received any response.
“If nothing happens in the coming seven days, we will have no choice but to ask our members to proceed on strike,” he said.
Eric Kimwere, a Kuppet official, said it was only in Embu that the problem was being experienced.
“We are saying categorically that we are not going to stomach this. We are sick, we are tired and we are fed up with always going to the hospitals and being turned away,” he said.
He added that they also have a problem with pre-authorisation in hospitals where approvals for treatment were taking up to 24 hours.
“This mistreatment of our teachers is unacceptable,” he said, adding that their facilities had reached a point of treating one patient instead of all those covered in a household.
