A bitter standoff has emerged between Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) over the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), prolonging a nationwide strike by clinical officers that has now entered its 16th day.
The union accuses CS Duale of deliberately delaying the signing of a CBA that it says has already received approvals from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the National Treasury and the Council of Governors, pushing negotiations to a dead end.
On his part, Duale has rejected the accusations, insisting the disputed CBA applies to only a small group of clinical officers employed directly by the Ministry of Health, while excluding thousands of others working under county governments and public hospital boards.
Speaking as tensions escalated, KUCO Secretary General George Gibore said the union had exhausted all required negotiation processes and accused the CS of acting in bad faith.
“Mgomo wetu umeingia siku ya kumi na sita. Masuala yote tuliyowasilisha yanawezekana. SRC na Treasury walikuwa hawajaidhinisha awali, sasa wameidhinisha, lakini CS anakataa kusaini,” Gibore said.
KUCO maintains that the agreement is ready for signing and that no legal or financial obstacles remain, arguing that continued refusal by the ministry is unjustified and punitive to frontline health workers.
However, CS Duale has pushed back strongly, accusing union leaders of misleading their members and pursuing a deal that would benefit only a handful of clinicians.
According to Duale, the proposed CBA covers just 150 clinical officers under the national government payroll, leaving out more than 7,000 clinical officers employed by 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.
The Health CS has now directed KUCO to return to the negotiating table and renegotiate a fully inclusive CBA that harmonises terms for clinical officers across national and county governments.
At the centre of the dispute is the risk allowance paid to clinical officers, currently set at Ksh 3,000. The government has indicated willingness to increase the allowance to Ksh 7,000, but insists this must be done through a harmonised framework involving county governments and public hospital boards to avoid disparities.
KUCO, however, insists there is no legal 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?” KUCO national chairperson Peterson Wachira posed.
Gibore further accused the CS of backtracking on earlier commitments.
“What was a hindrance was the approval from SRC. He is the only one standing in the way. Every process has been followed in negotiating this CBA. He is the one acting in bad faith,” he said.
As the stalemate persists, KUCO leaders have threatened to mobilise members to collect signatures for a petition seeking the removal of CS Duale from office.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has issued warnings to intern clinical officers participating in the strike, cautioning that those who fail to report back to work risk losing their pay.
In a related policy announcement, CS Duale also revealed that the government has suspended licence renewals for foreign doctors, stating that 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,” Duale said.
The prolonged strike has continued to disrupt services in public health facilities across the country, raising concerns about patient access to care as both sides remain entrenched in their positions.
