The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) have called off their nationwide strike after over three months.
In a statement following deliberations with the Council of Governors, KUCO Secretary General George Gibore said they have signed a return to work formula with the governors.
He officially called off the strike, saying that their members must resume work immediately.
"We began our strike on April 1, after a seven-day strike notice, which was issued on March 25, and we have been on strike until today and by virtue of signing this Return To Work we are officially declaring that our strike has come to an end and our members shall resume duty in their respective places of work, starting today, and not later than 24 hours from the date herein," Gibore said.
On June 23, the Clinicians maintained that their strike would go on until all the issues they had raised were addressed.
Gibore, at the time, said out of the 10 issues outlined by the clinicians, only one on career progression has been agreed upon.
Clinicians downed their tools on April 1 over several grievances.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court on May 9 ordered the employers to enter into a return to work agreement and register the same in court on June 25.
The government had maintained that it lacks the resources to implement some of their demands such as the employment of more healthcare workers and their promotions.
The Clinicians were demanding that the national and county governments issue confirmation letters on permanent and pensionable terms to UHC staff hired during the COVID-19 period.
They also wanted the national government and counties to recruit more than 20,000 unemployed and qualified clinical officers to cover the existing shortage.
The union also demanded 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.
“The issue has been implementation and prioritisation; that there are no resources even to put the healthcare workers in a comprehensive medical cover that can guarantee them the medical services that they offer and that is the reason why we are still on strike at this time,” Gibore said.
