The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, Nairobi Chapter have threatened to down their tools starting on Wednesday 16th July, should the Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja won’t address their issues affecting the working conditions in all public hospitals within the city.
Addressing Journalists on Monday 14th July, at their offices led by National Chairman Peterson Wachira, the union announced plans to stage protests accusing the county of dragging feet on their plight, unlike other counties like Machakos under the leadership of Governor Wavinya Ndeti
“What is purturbing us is the carefree natue the Nairobi county government has been handling our issues, I think some of Governors are doing better like yesterday we were in Machakos signing working agreement with the Governor and our clinical officers there are treated professionally, ‘ Wachira contrasted the two counties.
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He hinted that the industrial action would be escalated into daily protests from next week if the Nairobi County government remains unmoved about the clinical officers welfare
“Many facilities around Nairobi have not been working. And even those that have been working have not been working optimally,” He added.
Among the demands the clinical officers have tabled are recruitment, promotions, redesignation, and the implementation of career progression guidelines.
“We have our five officers with appointment letters be posted, We want the career guidelines be implemented. The third issue has been promotion and redesignation. Our members have stagnated for the longest time,” Stephen Muthama, the Nairobi branch KUCCO chairman lamented.
The officers who had been on strike for 83 days paralysing healthcare in the city before calling it off have also called on affected residents to join them in demanding urgent action.
In their latest call to action, the clinical officers also demanding a direct engagement with the governor, who they believe has the power to end the stalemate if he directly engaged the officers.
The stalemate between KUCO and the county government dates back to January 2025, when they cited unfulfilled Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) demands while issuing a separate notice.
Notably, KUCO has consistently come to an agreement with the government after industrial action, but for the most part, the cordial relationship between the two parties is often short-lived