Public healthcare services across Kenya have been thrown into paralysis after clinical officers officially downed their tools in a nationwide strike across all 47 counties, following confirmation from the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO).
The industrial action stems from what the union describes as a complete failure by the Ministry of Health and county governments to address long-standing grievances. According to KUCO Secretary-General and CEO George M. Gibore, authorities failed to provide a meaningful response despite receiving both an initial 21-day demand notice and a subsequent 14-day strike notice.
“The Ministry of Health and the forty-seven county governments ignored our twenty-one-day demand notice and have equally failed to respond meaningfully to the subsequent fourteen-day strike notice. Our grievances, therefore, remain unresolved,” part of the communiqué stated.
To maintain a uniform stand across the country, KUCO has directed all clinical officers to remain united, disciplined, and fully participating in the walkout. Union branch officials are actively mobilizing members and maintaining close communication with the national office throughout the ongoing action.
Crucially, the union issued a strict warning forbidding members from participating in separate county-level meetings organized by local labor officers without explicit written authorization from the secretary-general. KUCO argued that decentralized discussions would only undermine collective bargaining efforts and prolong resolution of the dispute.
“No branch official or member is authorized to negotiate, vary, compromise, suspend, or withdraw any matter contained in the national strike notice,” the statement emphasized.
With thousands of healthcare workers away from their posts, the ongoing strike continues to severely disrupt operations across public hospitals and health centers nationwide until the government meaningfully engages in centralized negotiations.
