Health CS Aden Duale speaks during a previous strike by health workers / FILEThousands of health workers from seven cadres have maintained they will strike on Monday to force the government to permanently employ about 7,450 of their colleagues attached on contract to the Universal Health Coverage programme since 2019.
They also want counties to sign recognition agreements with their unions and execute Collective Bargaining Agreements.
“The Ministry of Health has engaged us on UHC staff, but the problem is the governors, and that’s why our strike will be mainly in the county facilities,” said Peterson Wachira, chairman of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (Kuco), on behalf of the caucus of seven unions.
“The UHC staff are now without a job after their contracts were extended many times since 2021. We also have 98 health workers from the Global Fund TB programme who have worked two years now without pay.”
President William Ruto had promised on September 9 last year that the UHC workers would be employed permanently. Their contracts ended last month.
However, the Ministry of Health, which has been paying them, has been trying to push the financial burden to the county governments.
On July 13, Medical Services PS Ouma Oluga sent a letter to Public Service PS Jane Kere, requesting the migration of UHC staff payroll from the national government to the counties.
“Accordingly, the State Department for Medical Services deems the translation of all UHC staff terms of service from contract to Permanent and Pensionable completed subject to your State Department implementing a central and full payroll transfer that facilitates each of the 47 county governments to pay their respective UHC staff salaries starting July 2026 on permanent terms of service,” he said.
The Council of Governors has been against this unless the financial burden is factored in during the Division of Revenue.
The COG did not directly respond to the Star but provided letters from some counties that promised to absorb the jobless UHC workers, with the MoH and the Treasury to provide the money.
Makueni county, for instance, promised on July 10 to absorb all its UHC workers.
“The transition is being undertaken collaboratively with the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors, Public Service Commission, the National Treasury and other relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth and seamless transfer,” it said in a memo.
Embu Health chief officer Patrick Mukavi claimed to have set aside Sh314 million in the 2026-27 budget to confirm all UHC workers on permanent and pensionable terms.
The UHC health workers are medical professionals, primarily nurses, clinical officers, and laboratory technicians, who were initially recruited between 2019 and 2020 as part of Kenya’s broader effort to roll out the UHC programme, especially in underserved rural and peri-urban areas.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, these UHC workers were at the frontlines, conducting community testing, contact tracing, running isolation and quarantine centres and helping to administer vaccinations.
They were hired on contract at half the salary of their permanent colleagues but were assured that their positions would be converted to permanent and pensionable roles after a set period.
The Health Union Caucus says the government has reneged on this promise multiple times.
In a press statement issued Tuesday, the caucus said it had been left with no option but to call industrial action after what it described as weeks of silence following demands submitted on June 15.
The unions said repeated efforts to engage county governments had failed to yield progress, despite raising issues affecting thousands of healthcare workers across the country.
"The nationwide strike shall commence at 12:00 midnight on Monday, July 20, 2026," the statement reads.
According to the unions, the continued failure by the CoG to respond to their grievances has violated labour laws and constitutional guarantees protecting workers' rights.
"Despite clear and urgent demands issued by the Health Union Caucus on June 15, 2026 regarding the welfare and job security of healthcare workers, the Council of Governors has persistently failed to acknowledge or act on these grievances," the unions said.
The caucus argued that the prolonged inaction has created widespread uncertainty among health workers, many of whom continue serving under temporary contracts without adequate employment benefits.
"These workers are working under a very demotivating environment shrouded in confusion and uncertainty regarding their jobs, and without medical cover for themselves and their dependents," the statement said.
The statement was signed on behalf of the Health Union Caucus by chairperson Peterson Wachira and officials representing several health sector unions, including Kuco and the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers.
Others are the Kenya Union of Nutritionists and Dieticians, the Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists, the Kenya Health Professionals Society, the Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union and the National Union of Biomedical Engineers of Kenya.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The planned health workers’ strike highlights ongoing tensions over the transition of UHC staff from temporary contracts to permanent employment. At the centre of the dispute is the question of who should carry the financial responsibility between the national and county governments. While health workers argue that prolonged contracts have created job insecurity and affected morale, counties are seeking assurance of adequate funding before absorbing the staff. The dispute also raises concerns about the stability of healthcare services, especially because these workers have played a key role in expanding access to care and responding to public health emergencies. A lasting solution requires cooperation and clear financial commitments.
