By Tony Wafula, Bungoma
Patients in Bungoma County have been left stranded at health facilities after the clinical officers resumed strike following a disagreement with the Council of Governors (COG) and the County government of Bungoma.
Addressing the Press in Webuye on Friday, Ekisa Ambuchi, branch secretary for the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) confirmed the resumption of the nationwide industrial action by the clinical officers which started on Tuesday, 18th February 2025.
“The decision follows the expiration of a 21 day suspension period granted to the council of governors and the ministry of health to address the outstanding demands raised by the union,” the secretary noted, alleging that no meaningful progress has been made to resolve the issues, leaving the clinical officers with no option but to resume the strike.
Further, he noted that the industrial action stems from the blatant breach of the return to work agreement signed and registered in court on 8th July 2024, which brought an end to a 99 day strike.
“The agreement was meant to address critical issues affecting clinical officers across the country, however, to date, the county government of Bungoma, among other stakeholders, has failed to honor its commitments as outlined in the agreement,” Ambuchi revealed.
The unionist cited promotion and re-designation of clinical officers, recruitment of additional clinical officers, budgetary allocation for absorption of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) clinical officers, comprehensive medical cover and harmonization of terms of service as the main issues that the council need to be addressed.
In addition, Ambuchi stated that the breach of the return to work agreement, the union is deeply concerned about the ongoing discrimination by the social health authority board saying that despite the law requiring the board to empanel health care workers provided by their respective regulatory bodies, only illegal but also amounts to blatant discrimination, denying the an opportunity to provide healthcare services to Kenyans under SHA.
“The union wishes to express its sincere apologies to the public for the inconvenience caused by the strike, however, the clinical officers have been left with no alternative but to take this path, as our repeated attempts to engage the relevant authorities have been met with inaction and disregard for our legitimate concerns,” he said.
Ambuchi confirmed that the strike will continue until their demands are fully addressed and the commitments made in the return to work agreement are honored.
“We call upon the Council of Governors, the ministry of health and the county government of Bungoma to act swiftly and responsibly to resolve these issues in the interest of the Kenyan public and the healthcare system,” he said.
Also present were officials of the KUCO branch.
