The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) says the government is leaving its members with no choice but to consider a nationwide strike, accusing the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors of repeatedly failing to enforce agreements that have dragged on for years.
Speaking in an interview on Radio Generation on Friday, KUCO Secretary General George Gibore said the standoff is not about unwilling workers but about a government that has consistently gone back on its word.
“We are not the ones who want to strike. It is the government who is forcing us to go on strike,” he said. “We have agreements after agreements that are never implemented.”
Gibore pointed to the nearly seven-month strike in 2024, which ended after the union signed agreements with both the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors. A key part of that deal was to conclude the long-pending Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) within 90 days.
“We agreed on 8th July with the Council of Governors, and then we signed one with the Minister of Health on 18th July,” he explained.
He said the union followed every step required to finalize the CBA. Treasury gave its concurrence earlier this year, confirming the availability of funds. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) then approved the revised CBA terms on September 8.
“Once you receive concurrence from Treasury… you take it to SRC. Approval of SRC was received in the ministry on 8th September,” he noted.
Despite that, the Ministry of Health has still not signed the final document. Gibore says the delays are not accidental.
“There is even a message he sent to my chairman telling him that he will sign it that week. That was early November,” he said, adding that the Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale later claimed the file had not reached his desk.
“When he says that this is what is there, he was not being genuine,” he added
Health cabinet Secretary Aden Duale had on Tuesday dismissed claims of intentional delays, saying the agreement has not yet reached his desk.
“On the issue they are raising, it concerns only clinicians working in the national government. I do not sign documents immediately upon receipt. In fact, I have not seen this one,” he said during an interview on Citizen TV on Tuesday.
Duale said he would act once the CBA is formally submitted to his office, noting that the agreement touches both national and county clinicians and must involve wider consultations.
“When it is brought, I will review it, consult the National Treasury, consult the SRC, and sign it. I aim to sign before the end of next week. This will also affect clinicians working at county level, so coordination with the Council of Governors is necessary,” he said.
He added that he remains open to dialogue with union leaders. “I maintain an open-door policy, particularly with the KUCO chairman and secretary-general. Confrontation is not a tool to resolve social issues like healthcare,” he said.
Gibore stressed that the dispute largely revolves around the risk allowance for clinical officers—workers he described as the first point of contact for patients in emergency rooms and clinics.
“When you go to the emergency, you will find somebody in a white lab coat. That person is a clinical officer,” he said. They often spend at least 15 minutes with a patient and are the first exposed to infectious diseases, he added.
The union says a previous administration had awarded an additional Sh12,000 in risk allowance, but the new government brought it down, with SRC eventually approving only Sh4,000.
Gibore warned that unless the ministry signs the CBA as agreed, KUCO members may have to down tools again.
“We have been very patient,” he said. “But someone is making what should be easy extremely difficult.”
