Effective July 1, the national government will no longer handle the payments for the Universal Health Care (UHC) staff after the Ministry of Health transferred its payroll management to the county governments.
In an official statement on Tuesday, the Health Cabinet Secretary announced that UHC staff payroll management will officially transfer to county governments to streamline healthcare operations and ensure long-term job security for UHC workers.
''The meeting resolved that the Ministry of Health shall transfer the management of UHC staff payroll to Counties effective July 1, with an attendant budget for payment of stipend under the current terms in the interim,'' the Ministry revealed in an official statement.
Under the new plan, counties will receive funding to sustain current salary terms during the transition.
Further, before the expiry of existing contracts, additional resources will be allocated to facilitate the full absorption of UHC staff into permanent and pensionable positions.
This is a significant move by the ministry for the staff who have previously been employed on three-year contracts, leading to uncertainty about job security.
To facilitate the absorption, the government has allocated Ksh7.8 billion to absorb 8,571 UHC staff into permanent positions.
The ministry has assured that service gratuity payments will be considered after the absorption process.
The meeting was attended by the Kenya National Union of Nurses & Midwives (KNUNM), the Kenya National Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers, and the Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union.
All UHC staff currently out on duty were asked to resume work with immediate effect and not later than May 7.
CS Duale, who, since his takeover, promised to streamline the ministry, maintained the government’s commitment to strengthening the health workforce, a key element in ensuring the success of UHC under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
The meeting was a follow-up to review the progress made on resolutions from previous strategic engagements with key stakeholders, specifically addressing issues raised by UHC staff in April.
The changes announced by the CS are expected to stabilise and streamline the healthcare sector, which has witnessed obstacles due to unresolved issues for the staff.
