Busia: Health services in all public health facilities across Embu County continue being paralyzed as the ongoing strike by health workers entered its second week today over a labor dispute with the County Government.
According to Kenya News Agency, striking workers held protests along the Embu-Meru Highway, disrupting traffic flow along the busy road as they made their way to the Governor’s Offices, where they sang and shouted anti-government slogans. They maintained that there will be no let-up to the industrial action until their grievances are addressed, including long-overdue promotions, remittance of statutory deductions, and conversion of contractual workers to permanent and pensionable terms.
The industrial action relates to a 2023 Employment and Labor Relations Court ruling that barred the county from engaging health workers on casual and short-term contracts and directed that those in service be converted to permanent and pensionable terms. County officials have cited budget constraints and ongoing consultations as reasons for the delay, but union officials say no concrete timeline has been given.
The workers accused the employer of taking them for a ride for too long by giving empty promises that never materialize. The striking workers also accused Governor Cecily Mbarire of dishonesty, claiming their industrial action was occasioned by delayed salaries and not politics, as the Governor had claimed. In a post on her social media platforms, Governor Mbarire had accused her political opponents of weaponizing health matters for political mileage.
However, the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) maintained that the strike was over the broader failure by the County Government to honor the labor agreement as per the court consent. The workers were later addressed by County Chief Officer in charge of Medical Services, Patrick Mukavi, who assured them the administration was working towards implementing the agreed terms. A week ago, Mukavi said that they had set aside Sh. 340 million in the current financial year to take care of their promotions and conversion of UHC workers currently under contracts to permanent terms.
