Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) medics are questioning salary cuts as counties take over their payroll during the transition to permanent and pensionable terms.  

UHC medics’ representative Ciru Kihara said that payslips issued in several counties indicate workers have been moved to permanent and pensionable status, despite not receiving formal confirmation letters. However, some workers have seen their pay fall by about KSh5,000, with risk allowances dropping from KSh5,000 to KSh3,000 and basic salaries from around KSh30,000 to KSh28,000.  

The transition follows a six-year dispute involving roughly 8,500 health workers recruited between 2019 and 2020 to strengthen primary healthcare and, later, Kenya’s COVID-19 response.  

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale previously estimated that resolving the permanent employment and gratuity issues would cost about Sh9 billion. Although the workers officially transitioned to county payrolls on 1 July 2026, medics say the lack of formal appointment letters and unresolved gratuity payments mean the long-running employment dispute is not yet settled.  

(Source: Daily Nation)