The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) has announced a nationwide strike set to begin at midnight today, citing unresolved issues affecting their profession.
KUCO attributed the strike to difficulties in pre-authorization for their cadre, concerns over the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program, and stalled Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations.
In response, the National Association of Clinical Officer Anesthetists-Kenya (NACOA-K) has declared its full support for the strike, urging members to stand in solidarity with the union.
"Our union (KUCO) has announced a Clinical Officer’s strike commencing midnight today due to various issues like the inability of our cadre to preauthorize, UHC and CBA.
"As the leadership of the association, we fully support the union and therefore call upon you to accord them the necessary support for the goal to be achieved," NACOA-K Secretary-General Daniel Kithome said in a statement.
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NACOA-K also encouraged non-members to take the opportunity to join the association, emphasizing the importance of unity in advocating for their rights.
"We keep on urging non-bonafide members of NACOA-K to take up the waiver opportunity and join our association where we all belong," Kithome added.
This comes a month after KUCO agreed to suspend its nationwide strike for 21 days following negotiations with the Council of Governors (CoG) and the Ministry of Health (MoH).
The aim of the suspension is to allow for further talks and resolve the outstanding issues, while healthcare services in the affected counties can resume.
During the negotiations, several key grievances were addressed including the recognition of clinical officers and their facilities by the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Others were the posting of clinical officer interns and finalizing the remaining clauses in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), with a particular focus on transitioning Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff to permanent and pensionable terms.
