Industrial Court Orders Uasin Gishu to reinstate 78 sacked health workers

Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago

KENYA: The Industrial Court in Nakuru has ordered Uasin Gishu County government to reinstate all the 78 health workers employed under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) it sacked last year.

In August 2014 Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) filed a court application after efforts to dialogue with the County officials over the employment of the health workers and ESP bore no fruits.

The government initiated the ESP in 2009 in a bid to create employment as a way of reviving the economic growth rate that had dipped to 1.7 per cent to get to the projected 7.1 per cent with the ministry of health being a beneficiary.

Last year, Simon Kibii KNUN, Uasin Gishu branch chairperson accused the county for irregularly terminating services of 78 health workers under the ESP after they refused to sign contract extension letters.

"We advised all our members not to sign the contract extension letters the county had given because the government directive was that all the servants seconded to them must be employed on a permanent and pensionable scheme," said Kibii.

The disagreement prompted KNUN to sue the Public Service Commission (PSC), Ministry of Health and the County government of Uasin Gishu as the first, second and third respondents respectively.

"We moved to court since county officials were deliberately flouting fairness employment terms by sacking these staff on grounds that they had refused to continue working on contractual basis yet they were only seconded from the national government," said John Bii KNUN National Chairman.

After a year in court, Justice Stephen Radido ruled in the favour of KNUN ordering the County government to absorb and confirm ESP health staff whose contracts expired on 20th 2014 on a permanent and pensionable basis and deem them as having been absorbed on February 12th 2015 thus backdate their salaries and allowances.

"The aggrieved be compensated for underpayments suffered while doing same job like their colleagues and earning less. The court issues permanent injunction against the respondent not to subject the grievant to fresh renewal of contracts and signing of job evaluation forms," read part of the ruling.

The court further ordered Uasin Gishu to pay Sh50, 000 as costs incurred by the Union.
The court order is a blow to Uasin Gishu government as it recently employed additional 377 heath workers to complement the existing health workforce, since it will have to dig deep to pay the ESPs' 10 months arrears and sustain the newly employed staff.

County Health Department Chief Officer Wilson Kemei said he has not accessed the court ruling to authoritatively comment on the matter.