Kenya: Govt Talks Civil Servants Into Ditching Strike Over Unpaid SHA Premiums
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 18 – The Kenya Union of Civil Servants called off nationwide demonstrations scheduled for Tuesday following government intervention in a closed-door meeting on Monday.
The union had announced the strike to protest against persistent delays by government departments and agencies in remitting health insurance funds to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Secretary General Tom Odege confirmed the suspension of the protests, citing a commitment by the Ministry of Public Service and Human Capital Development to resolve the matter.
“Due to the persistent and unresolved systemic problem at SHA that has led to lack of access to health services by our members, the union was forced to call for major demonstrations on 18th March 2025,” Odege stated.
The decision followed what he called a high-level stakeholders meeting held at the Kenya School of Government (KSG) in Kabete, where representatives from the union, government, and other key actors deliberated on the crisis that has left thousands of civil servants without access to healthcare services.
Timely monthly remittances
During the meeting, the Principal Secretary for Public Service and Human Capital Development issued a directive to all Principal Secretaries and Accounting Officers, instructing them to ensure timely remittance of State Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) deductions to SHA by the 7th of every month.
“We therefore advise our members to put on hold our intention to demonstrate tomorrow, awaiting the outcome,” Odege noted.
The union threatened strike action amid an impasse as public sector workers faced denial of medical services due to non-remittance of SHIF deductions.
The union emphasized that while the demonstrations stand suspend, it will continue monitoring the implementation of the directive to safeguard members’ welfare.
The cancellation of the strike came amid disqueit in public service with SHA faulting government departments over non-payment of premiums, a situation partly blamed for historical debts owned to health facilities.
By Capital FM.
