CS Duale, clinical officers clash over signing of CBA

The union accuses the CS of dragging his feet on signing their Collective Bargaining Agreement, despite approvals from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and the Council of Governors.

On his part, Duale insists the CBA only applies to a limited group of clinicians under the Health Ministry, leaving the majority of officers nationwide out. The CS has now ordered the union to renegotiate a fully inclusive CBA, even as tensions continue to escalate.

Sixteen days into a nationwide strike, clinical officers say talks with the Ministry of Health have reached a dead end. Union leaders accuse Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale of backtracking on earlier commitments and refusing to sign a Collective Bargaining Agreement they insist is ready and fully approved.

"Mgomo wetu umeingia siku ya kumi na sita. Masuala yote tuliyowasilisha yanawezekana. SRC na Treasury walikuwa hawajaidhinisha awali, sasa wameidhinisha, lakini CS anakataa kusaini," KUCO Secretary General George Gibore stated. 

However, CS Aden Duale is pushing back hard, accusing the union of misleading its members and chasing a deal that would benefit only a tiny fraction of clinicians.

He says the disputed CBA covers just 150 clinical officers employed directly by the Ministry, leaving more than 7,000 county-based clinicians, those in referral hospitals, and thousands more across the country out in the cold.

"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 noted. 

At the heart of the dispute is the risk allowance, currently set at Ksh.3,000. The government says it is ready to raise it to Ksh.7,000, but only through a harmonised agreement covering counties and public hospital boards.

The union insists there is no barrier to signing a Ministry-only 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 noted. 

"What was a hindrance was the approval from SRC. 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," Gibore pointed out. 

As the standoff drags on, KUCO leaders are threatening to collect signatures for a petition seeking the removal of CS Aden Duale, while the Ministry of Health has warned intern clinicians who fail to report to work that they risk losing their pay.

In a separate policy move, CS Duale has also announced the suspension of licence renewals for foreign doctors, saying priority must be given to unemployed Kenyan medical professionals except where specialised skills are unavailable locally.

"We are not renewing the licences of foreign doctors...we will only allow those with specialities that are not locally available," Duale remarked.