Nyamira absorbs 224 health officers into permanent employment

Six years after joining on contract, UHC workers receive their permanent letters — and a promise that outstanding gratuity will be paid

By Elizabeth Angira

Nyamira County yesterday employed 224 Universal Health Coverage officers on permanent and pensionable terms, ending six years of contract service for health workers who had long awaited job security.

The officers received their employment letters at Nyamira County Referral Hospital during a function presided over by Governor Amos Nyaribo, who assured the workers that their welfare concerns would be addressed and that the county would settle all outstanding gratuity owed for their years on contract.

“You will get your outstanding gratuity for the period you worked on contract,” Nyaribo said.

The governor explained that the delay in absorbing the officers had not been a matter of unwillingness but of financing. The Council of Governors had opposed paying the workers through conditional grants, which could not sustainably cover permanent salaries. “We have, through the Council of Governors, been fighting for you to get more resources from the national government that can sustain your monthly salaries for your entire period of employment,” he told the gathering. He confirmed that President William Ruto had since approved additional funding to county governments to cover the costs.

Nyaribo also announced that other county civil servants would receive salary increments announced by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission before January, noting that the timing of the announcement had made immediate implementation impossible as the county had already finalised its budget.

The governor closed with a firm warning against absenteeism. “No worker deserves a salary at the end of every month without being on duty,” he said.

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