Civil servants vow to block new NHIF rates

What you need to know:

  • “We are not amused because the NHIF has this month made exorbitant deductions from the civil servants pay towards the so called universal medical cover. Our position is that we will withdraw from the current medical scheme in July if the fund doesn’t stop these deductions,” said Mr Odege.
  • “We insist that if public workers have to be part of this scheme then it must be negotiated and made affordable. We know that there are some government functionaries interested in reaping from these deductions and are behind the hurried implementation,” he said.

Civil Servants have threatened to withdraw from the Sh4.5 billion medical scheme managed on their behalf by the National Hospital Insurance Fund.

The union would block the renewal of the contract on the scheme from July 1 unless members are excluded from the new NHIF rates, said the Union of Kenya Civil Servants secretary-general, Mr Tom Odege, on Tuesday.

He spoke as teachers threatened to call a major strike to protest the implementation of the new NHIF rates gazetted in February.

“We are not amused because the NHIF has this month made exorbitant deductions from the civil servants pay towards the so called universal medical cover. Our position is that we will withdraw from the current medical scheme in July if the fund doesn’t stop these deductions,” said Mr Odege.

Most civil servants have this month parted with between Sh500 and Sh1,700 as directed by NHIF through the gazette notice.

The union was part of the negotiated Sh4.5 billion medical cover for civil servants and members of the armed forces, which came into effect in 2012.

MAY SALARIES

Mr Odege noted that although government ministries did not effect the new rates last month, civil servants experienced deductions in their May salaries.

“We insist that if public workers have to be part of this scheme then it must be negotiated and made affordable. We know that there are some government functionaries interested in reaping from these deductions and are behind the hurried implementation,” he said.

He noted that the public hospitals expected to provide medical services through the scheme are yet to be improved.
“We are going to withdraw our services if by July they do not listen to us. As for now, we demand that they stop any further deductions towards this fund and make refunds accordingly,” the union boss told the Daily Nation.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Tuesday gave a strike notice to the Ministry of Labour on the dispute over the NHIF rates.

“We have noted with great exception the implementation of the newly gazetted rates deductible from Kenya National Union of Teachers members and employees by the National Hospital Insurance Fund starting from April 1, 2015,” read a letter by Knut secretary-general Wilson Sossion.

Mr Sossion described the implementation of the new rates as unpopular and threatened to mobilise teachers to withdraw from classes unless the implementation is stopped.

“The union is consulting with a view to challenging the implementation,” he said.