Clinical officers say they will start strike on Sunday if govt doesn’t talk to them

Representatives of clinical officers in Nyeri address journalists outside Nyeri County Referral Hospital on January 3, 2017, when they complained about being overworked during the doctors’ strike. Their union now says they will go on strike on January 22, 2017 if the national government does not negotiate with them an MoU presented to the Ministry of Health in 2016. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Union chairman Peterson Wachira said all members will down their tools if the government does not address their issues.
  • He said a promise by government to call them for talks is yet to be honoured.
  • He said the union will not issue a strike notice as the earlier one is still valid.

Clinical officers have threatened to go on strike starting Sunday over what they call discrimination.

They are also pushing for higher pay.

Kenya Union of Clinical Officers chairman Peterson Wachira on Tuesday said all members will down their tools if the national government does not address their grievances presented to the Ministry of Health earlier.

He told the Nation by phone that the strike was to happen in 2016 but was suspended for 45 days, which end on Sunday.

“The government promised to call us to the negotiating table but that has not happened.

“We suspended the strike for 45 days, which will elapse on January 22.

“Unless something happens before then we will have to go [on strike],” he said.

He said the union will not issue a strike notice as the earlier one is still valid.

“We will not issue a strike notice as we had issued one when we went on strike together with the doctors only that we suspended [our] strike,” he said.