Health workers have called on the Ministry of Health and the counties to utilise the remaining window to initiate talks and avert any possible strike.
The clinicians, laboratory officers, pharmaceutical technologists, nutritionists and public health officers have threatened to down tools from Thursday midnight should their grievances remain unresolved.
They had on May 15 issued a 60 days strike notice to the ministry and county governments regarding unconcluded CBAs and recognition agreements.
They further want the Labour CS Florence Bore to intervene on the matter so as to avoid disruption of services in the country.
“We are ready for talks if they will take the remaining time to go to the negotiating table if not we have decided that we will go on strike on Friday,” Kenya Union of Clinical Officers SG George Gibore said.
“We are not going rounds in circles if they want us to talk, we are ready to do so even now but if nothing happens by Thursday, they should forget about it,” Brown Ashira said.
Ashira is the branch secretary for the Kenya Health Professionals Society, Nairobi.
On Tuesday, the unions disputed reports on any ongoing negotiations with the ministry and the counties.
Health CS Susan Nakhumicha said that Health PS State Department Public Health and Professional Standards was in talks with the unions to iron out issues of contention and reach a possible agreement.
But in a rejoinder, the health unions caucus has said despite the PS reaching out and promising to fix a meeting with the unions, that is yet to happen.
This means should the stalemate remain unresolved, Kenyans might from Friday be forced to seek medical care from private health facilities should the unions keep their threat to down their tools from Thursday midnight.
