The Health Unions caucus is set to stage demonstrations on Monday, with their procession scheduled to visit various offices to address their grievances.
The procession will kick off at the Kenya Medical Association offices, after which the group will gather at the Green Park terminus before proceeding to present petitions and seek answers from several state offices.
Health workers visits
Among the offices where they plan to present their petitions are the Ministry of Health, Council of Governors, Senate, National Assembly, Public Service Commission, Treasury, and Ministry of Interior.
Their concerns include the aggravated assault on Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union Secretary General Davji Bhimji and victimization of Union Officials, delays in the absorption of Universal Health Coverage for health workers, and the harmonization of all contracts under the Ministry of Health and County Governments as agreed upon under the Kericho Declaration.
The workers are also protesting the delay in posting medical, clinical, dental, pharmacy, and nursing interns, as well as the delay and frustrations in concluding the 2023 - 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreements for Unions in the health sector.
Additionally, they are decrying the refusal by the Ministry of Health and County Governments to sign recognition agreements with KNUMLO, KNUPT, KUNAD & KEPHPU.
"The procession will start from KMA offices, assemble at Green Park terminus and then proceed to present petitions and seek answers from the aforementioned offices. Nairobi regional office has already been informed for the purposes of providing security to health workers as they exercise their right to assemble, picket, demonstrate and preset petitions to public offices," part of the statement reads.
These demonstrations come in the wake of an incident where KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah was shot at by police during protests over the delayed posting of medical interns.
Atellah is currently receiving treatment at the Nairobi Hospital for injuries sustained during the incident.
The incident occurred despite Atellah's announcement, in a letter to the Nairobi Regional Police Commander, of a peaceful protest in Nairobi on Thursday regarding the delayed posting of medical interns and the payment of fees for postgraduate students.
Last week's demos
The medics had marched from the Kenya Medical Association Centre in the Upper Hill area to the Ministry of Health offices and were scheduled to proceed to the Treasury headquarters in the city centre.
Atellah had threatened a nationwide strike if over 1,000 medical interns were not hired, further criticizing the Ministry of Health for refusing to absorb the medics, thereby denying Kenyans medical services.
