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Five trade unions in the health sector controlling about 1,600 workers have issued a two-week strike notice that could paralyse health services.
The unions said the notice would expire on August 30 and if their demands would not have been met, they would down their tools as from September 1.
They accused the county government of concentrating on construction, renovation of hospital buildings and purchasing new equipment while ignoring the welfare of the workers.
"We wonder why so much is being pumped into construction, renovation and purchase of new equipment when the staff are totally demotivated," read a joint communique.
In what could be a major blow to Governor Peter Munya, the health workers accused the county of being one of the worst employers in the devolved health service sector in the country.
County Health Executive William Muraah did not answer calls or respond to a text message seeking clarification of the workers' complaints.
WORK LOAD
The workers claimed the county was opening numerous dispensaries run by overworked nurses. The county has a shortage of 400 nurses, 250 clinical officers and 30 medical doctors.
The unions, which issued the notice are the Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun), the Kenya Clinical Officers Association (KCOA), the Association of Medical Lab Officers (Amlo) and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU).
Their members serve the Level Five Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, six sub-county hospitals, tens of level three hospitals, dispensaries and health centres.
The unions accused Mr Munya of freezing annual salary increments and routine job promotions, which they claimed affected 1,000 of their members running back to the period before the health function was devolved.
"We acknowledge that the county government inherited the problem but it is now theirs because it is like they married our employer and whoever marries your mother is your father," said Knun Meru Chairman Mugambi Bakari.
The unions also claimed that the county government hired 140 former Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) workers on permanent basis but paid them only basic pay, while 40 nurses and nine clinical officers directly hired were underpaid.
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