Newly appointed Health Cabinet Secretary Adan Duale has promised to transition Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Workers with over five years of service to Permanent and Pensionable (PnP) terms.
Speaking after taking over the reigns from CS Deborah Barasa on Tuesday, April 1, Duale stated that he would address all their concerns and demands in the next three weeks.
Duale was speaking to hundreds of UHC staff who had camped outside Afya House following weeks of strikes over years of unmet promises.
He also promised a settlement of gratuity to all deserving workers within the same timeline.
Furthermore, he promised fairness and equity when addressing health sector concerns and consultative solutions, prioritising the welfare of healthcare professionals.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening Kenya’s healthcare system while cracking down on unqualified practitioners in the sector.
Since mid-February, the UHC staff have been staging regular protests demanding that promises made to them when they were hired be met.
They were hired in a pilot programme sponsored by the national government to bridge the gap in the shortage of healthcare workers in the country, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although hired on contractual terms, they had been promised an eventual transition to PnP terms, a promise yet to be kept. In fact, some of the UHC staff's salaries were slashed in half after the initial three-year contract ended.
A meeting held with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on Monday, March 17, failed to materialise as they failed to agree on the terms issued.
It brought together officials from the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), KMPDU, and United Kingdom Community Servers (UKCS) and was expected to address the plight of 8,571 UHC staff in limbo.
"The failed meeting between the Ministry of Health, CS Deborah Barasa, KNUN, KUCO, KMPDU, UKCS, and DP Kindiki is an indicator of a failed system. It shows the helplessness and lack of seriousness toward solving our 5-year-old UHC issues," the UHC workers announced after the meeting.
Immediately after Duale was appointed in his new role a week ago, they welcomed him to the ministry with a strike notice for Tuesday, April 1, which they successfully carried out after camping outside the ministry headquarters.
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