Kakamega clinical officers strike to demand implementation of CBA

Kakamega County Referral Hospital. [File, Standard]

Healthcare services were disrupted in Kakamega after clinical officers downed tools to protest against the county's failure to sign and implement their 2025/2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Kenya Union of Clinical Officers Kakamega branch secretary-general Olaka Mutobera said the union had issued a 21-day strike notice before withdrawing their services.

“We started our strike after issuing a 21-day notice for the county to sign the CBA, which other counties have done. Kakamega has not signed it since February,” Mutobera said.

He said the union later issued a 14-day ultimatum to the county government, but no official came forward to address their grievances.

The union is demanding the signing and implementation of the CBA, the implementation of the approved career guidelines, a return-to-work formula incorporating promotions, and proper grading of clinical officers.

Mutobera said many officers had remained in the same job groups for years despite advancing their education and qualifications.

"Six years in the same job group is demoralising workers. The county has not employed any clinical worker. The nine it employed were replacements. We are the backbone of primary healthcare, and we cannot be taken for granted,” he said.

He warned that the strike could continue into next year if the county fails to address their grievances, urging patients to seek services from alternative facilities.

Sedrick Alusa, the Busia branch secretary-general, said only Kakamega and Busia counties had persistently failed to sign the CBA, calling on all counties to implement the agreement.

“We want the CBA signed and implemented and risk allowance paid. Resources have been allocated to ensure universal healthcare workers are employed on permanent and pensionable terms,” Alusa said.

He also opposed the use of hospital boards to employ clinical officers at low salaries, saying workers should be employed and remunerated according to their qualifications and job groups.

“We want people to work in the right job group and receive the right salary for the right work. We do not want people being paid as little as Sh10,000 by hospital boards,” he said.

Alusa further demanded full implementation of the career guidelines approved by the Public Service Commission, saying clinical officers should be allowed to progress to higher job groups.

“We do not want a situation where clinical officers are retained in job group B when the career guidelines allow them to progress up to job group R,” he said.

 The union maintained that it would continue with the industrial action until its demands were met.