Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) remain locked in a bitter standoff over a nationwide strike by clinical officers that has now stretched into its 16th day, with no clear end in sight.
At the centre of the dispute is a long-awaited Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which the union says has already received approval from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the Council of Governors, but is yet to be signed by the Health Ministry.
Union leaders accuse Duale of reneging on earlier commitments and deliberately delaying the process, despite what they insist are all necessary approvals having been secured.
“Mgomo wetu umeingia siku ya kumi na sita. Masuala yote tuliyowasilisha yanawezekana. SRC na Treasury walikuwa hawajaidhinisha awali, sasa wameidhinisha, lakini CS anakataa kusaini,” said KUCO Secretary General George Gibore.
However, Duale has strongly rejected the union’s claims, accusing its leadership of misleading members and pushing for an agreement that would only benefit a small fraction of clinical officers.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the disputed CBA applies to only about 150 clinical officers employed directly by the Ministry of Health, leaving out more than 7,000 clinicians working under county governments, referral hospitals, and other public health institutions.
“These leaders are being dishonest to their members. They are only pushing for the 150 while leaving the other thousands out in the cold. I cannot be irresponsible and sign a CBA for a few people and abandon the rest,” Duale said.
Duale has now directed KUCO to renegotiate a harmonised and inclusive CBA that covers all clinical officers across counties and public hospital boards, insisting that any agreement must be equitable nationwide.
A key sticking point in the talks is the risk allowance, currently set at Ksh.3,000. The government has indicated it is willing to raise the allowance to Ksh.7,000, but only through a unified agreement that applies uniformly across the public health system.
The union, however, maintains that there is no legal or procedural barrier to signing a Ministry-specific CBA, arguing that similar agreements already exist for other health worker cadres.
“He says signing our CBA will discriminate against others, yet CBAs have been signed in this ministry for doctors and nurses. What makes clinical officers different?” posed KUCO national chairperson Peterson Wachira.
Gibore echoed the sentiment, saying the only obstacle had been SRC approval, which he insists has now been granted.
“He is the only one standing in the way. Every process has been followed by us negotiating this CBA. He is the one acting in bad faith,” he said.
As the impasse drags on, KUCO leaders have threatened to begin collecting signatures for a petition seeking the removal of CS Duale, while the Ministry of Health has issued warnings to intern clinical officers who fail to report to work, saying they risk having their pay withheld.
Meanwhile, in a separate policy announcement, Duale revealed that the government has suspended the renewal of licences for foreign doctors, saying priority must be given to unemployed Kenyan medical professionals.
“We are not renewing the licences of foreign doctors. We will only allow those with specialities that are not locally available,” the CS said.
With neither side showing signs of backing down, patients across the country continue to bear the brunt of the prolonged standoff, as pressure mounts on both the government and the union to find common ground.
