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Global Fund TB Program staff on Wednesday picketed in Nairobi as they delivered a petition to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Health calling for immediate pay of their delayed salaries.
The workers said they were protesting unfair employment terms, salary delays, and stalled absorption into the civil service. They said they have worked for sixteen months without pay.
“We have been without salary for the last 16 months,” said spokesperson Denis Murumbutsa.
He said the hardship has been severe.
“It has been a hell of a time because we have continued to serve patients without active medical cover,"
He added that many officers have chronic illnesses but still work without even a medical cover to shield them.
“Some of us are diabetic, some have hypertension, others have cancer,” he said.
Murumbutsa noted that the group returned after an earlier picket on October 8.
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“The CS promised to work on our issues. But nothing has happened," he said confirming that the group feels sidelined.
“Last year the Ministry absorbed our colleagues in national facilities but left out 91 of us in counties. We feel discriminated against.”
Danso Munyao, who has served in the program for 16 years, said an agreement existed guaranteeing their transition.
“There was an agreement between the Global Fund, the National Treasury and the Ministry of Health that we would be absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms. Our contracts ended in December 2023, and we expected a seamless transition,” he said.
Munyao said counties refused to absorb them because they were not part of the original agreement.
“The Ministry failed to convince counties to absorb us. All our files are still at Afya House. None are in the counties. We belong to the Ministry of Health. Since June 2024 to now, we are working without salaries,” Munyoa lamented.
The workers are demanding immediate payment of their 16 months arrears.
“We are demanding sixteen months of salary arrears, immediate pay and full absorption into the civil service,” Munyao said.
Their petition, submitted through the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers, outlines years of government commitments.
It cites letters and agreements from 2019 to 2024 noting that the government repeatedly acknowledged its duty to transition the workers.
It also says the Public Service Commission later issued only a six-month contract offer, which the workers call a breach of earlier promises.
The petition says their rights have been violated stating that the delays violate fair labour practices, fair pay, and human dignity. It notes severe economic hardship.
It warns that TB case detection has been disrupted in high-burden counties, further warning that the government risks damaging its partnership with the Global Fund.
The workers want Parliament to act quickly to ensure immediate payment of their delayed salaries.
They want the Ministry of Health, PSC, Treasury and the Council of Governors compelled to finalize the transition, with a multi-agency meeting called within days.
They are also demanding an independent audit to verify payroll records.
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