Healthcare unions have rejected the resolution by the government to extend the contracts of Universal Health Coverage staff for another three years.
The unions have instead insisted that the more than 8,550 staff be hired on permanent and pensionable terms, saying the move was discriminatory.
“We have therefore agreed that the Ministry of Health to extend the contracts of UHC staff for further period of three year term under the same terms and conditions,” the communiqué from the national governors’ summit reads.
But the health unions on Tuesday came out guns blazing, rejecting the contractual terms as illegal and irregular, and threatened to paralyse health services unless they are made permanent and pensionable.
They comprise the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), Kenya National Union of Nurses and the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists.
Others include the Kenya National Union Medical Laboratory officers, the Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists and officers and the Kenya Union of Nutritionists and Dietitians.
“Subjecting them to contractual undertakings will not only be killing their professional growth but will also be disadvantaging them in terms of cadre competitions with their counterparts already in the service,” KUCO secretary general George Gibore said.
They have instead called on the government to embrace and implement the principle of equality and the prohibition against discrimination of workers as enshrined in the constitution.
“We reject the resolution to extend the resolution to extend the contract of UHC staff for another three years,” KUCO chairman Peterson Wachira said.
They are instead demanding a meeting with the Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Wafula to iron out the issues failure to which they will call on their members to down their tools.
“Early next week on a day that we are going to decide all the leaders of the health unions in the health sector are going to invoke Article 37 of the Constitution to present petitions to public offices,” Wachira said.
According to the unions, the petitions will be presented to the ministry and Parliament.
The extension of the contract by three years contrary to the demand from unions that they are given permanent and pensionable terms.
The Health ministry had earlier said the staff will be absorbed under permanent and pensionable terms.
"You can't have one nurse earning Sh50,000 and another earning Sh20,000 yet they are working under the same environment seeing the same patients," KMPDU deputy secretary general Dennis Miskella said.
The contracts of the staff who were engaged during the Covid-19 when the country was experiencing a shortage of health workers is supposed to come to an end in May.
The national government contracted more than 8,550 staff under the UHC programme. They were recruited and deployed across various counties on three-year contracts.
(edited by Amol Awuor)