NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 22 – Health workers under the Health Unions Caucus will on Wednesday begin daily nationwide street demonstrations as their nationwide strike enters its third day, escalating pressure on county governments over unresolved labour grievances.

📻 Breaking It Down

The demonstrations, themed “Health Workers United for Dignity, Justice & Respect,” will begin at Greenpark Terminus in Nairobi from 8:00 a.m., before proceeding to the Nairobi County Assembly and later the Council of Governors (CoG) headquarters.

Similar demonstrations are expected outside governors’ offices in all 47 counties.

The unions are demanding the immediate conversion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers to permanent and pensionable terms, inclusion of the workers in the July payroll, implementation of the 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and the signing of recognition agreements.

📌 What You Need to Know

The protests mark a further escalation of the industrial action that began on Monday after negotiations between the unions and county governments failed to resolve the dispute, disrupting services in public health facilities across several counties.

Health Unions Caucus Chairperson and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers National Chairperson Peterson Wachira accused county governments of failing to implement court orders and national agreements on the welfare of health workers.

“This is a strike against neglect, against inaction by the county governments on what they should do, and we are saying that it is a self-indictment on the counties that the weight of the health function has become too heavy for them to bear,” Wachira said.

He argued that poor working conditions undermine the quality of healthcare provided to patients.

“There is no way you would expect somebody to provide quality health when their welfare is not taken care of. This person will be anxious, this person will be stressed, this person will be fatigued… They cannot provide the best quality of care to their patients,” he said.

Wachira said Sh8.9 billion had already been allocated by the national government following consultations involving Parliament, the Ministry of Health and the Presidency to facilitate the transition of UHC workers to permanent and pensionable terms.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya