Clinical officers in Migori County have called off their month-long strike and agreed to resume duty within 24 hours after reaching an agreement with the county government on a raft of grievances.
The clinical officers, who have been out of duty since August 25, said they had reached an “amicable agreement” with their employer, with some of their demands already addressed and others placed under an implementation framework.
The breakthrough covers payment of enhanced risk allowance arrears, implementation of the clinical officers’ career guidelines, comprehensive insurance cover and withdrawal of disciplinary proceedings initiated against striking workers.
“We are here to inform our members, the clinical officers of Migori County, who have been out of duty from August 25th, that we’ve reached an amicable agreement with the administration, Migori County Government, as our employer,” the Clinical Officers Union representative said.
“The issues that took us out from our workstations, we are now telling them that we have solved a percentage of them, and the rest are work in progress.”
The union has now directed its members to report back to their respective stations, ending a standoff that had disrupted services in public health facilities across the county.
Risk allowance arrears
At the centre of the agreement is the enhanced risk allowance, whose arrears date back to July 2025.
The union said the county administration had committed to paying the accumulated arrears together with the September 2026 salaries.
“One of the issues that took us out was the implementation of the career guideline,” the union representative said.
He added: “The other thing was the enhanced risk allowance arrears. We’ve agreed that the payment of the enhanced risk allowance arrears, which started from July 2025 up to date, is going to be paid this month with the salaries of September 2026.”
The union said the commitment represented a significant development because the arrears had not previously been agreed upon as part of an implementation arrangement.
“Previously we’ve never agreed on payment of the arrears because it is a new allowance,” the representative said.
“Now that we’ve been assured that the arrears are going to be paid in this month’s salary—we are in September—and now when the employer has confirmed that they are going to pay it in September, we see that as a step towards finding a lasting solution.”
14 officers caught in career guideline dispute
The other major issue concerns implementation of the clinical officers’ career guidelines introduced in May 2024.
The union clarified that the dispute did not mean clinical officers in Migori had generally been denied promotions.
Instead, it said the delayed implementation of the new guidelines meant that some officers were promoted before the new structure had been fully operationalised.
“It is true Migori County is one of the counties that have done so well in matters concerning clinical officers, and we can authoritatively say that everyone had been promoted,” the representative said.
“But we had a career guideline which came into place in May 2024, and its implementation dragged.”
According to the union, the problem affected about 14 officers whose promotions were undertaken before the guidelines were fully implemented.
“So there were some promotions which were done when it was not fully in place,” the representative said.
“Those are the promotions that we are working on; there are around 14 members, so that they can go to their rightful job group.”
A committee headed by Migori County Director of Medical Services Dr Dan Ochieng’ will oversee the process of reviewing the affected officers and ensuring that they are placed in the appropriate job groups.
The union noted that Migori was among the counties that had moved to implement the career guidelines, describing it as the third county to do so.
Insurance cover moves closer to implementation
The agreement also addresses comprehensive insurance cover for health workers.
The union said a technical working group comprising representatives of health unions in the county had already worked on a document that would guide implementation.
“Another thing was a comprehensive insurance cover,” the union representative said.
“We’ve agreed that we had a technical working group of all the unions in Migori County, so we’ve agreed that our CEC will present the document which was reached upon so that its implementation can start.”
The development could provide health workers with a more comprehensive medical protection framework as the county moves to implement the recommendations of the technical working group.
Disciplinary action withdrawn
The county administration also agreed to withdraw disciplinary action that had been initiated against clinical officers during the industrial dispute.
“Also, we’ve agreed that all the disciplinary actions that were initiated upon our members have been withdrawn immediately with no any other condition,” the union representative said.
The withdrawal of the disciplinary measures removes another potential source of tension as the two sides attempt to restore normal working relations.
Union gives three-month window
The union, however, said the agreement would have to be tested through implementation.
Asked how long the agreement would last, the representative said the parties had agreed on a three-month review period.
“Regarding longevity, we’ve agreed that our members report back to work immediately. The last item in the agreement will take about three months,” he said.
“After three months, we will again review where we are. In case we realize that there is something that has not been done, we will start negotiating again.”
The union representative said industrial action was not its preferred approach to resolving disputes.
“The main essence of the union is not to strike; the main essence of the union is to reach an amicable solution through dialogue,” he said.
“We cannot say that we will strike again another time. We pray that the union and the administration will reach an amicable solution before such industrial actions happen.”
County declares clinicians back
For the county government, the agreement provides an opportunity to restore normal healthcare services after weeks of disruption.
Addressing journalists, Migori County Director of Medical Services Dr Dan Ochieng’ confirmed that the county administration and clinical officers had reached an agreement.
“On behalf of the Department of Health, and on behalf of the County Government of Migori under His Excellency Dr. Ochilo Ayacko: you know our clinicians have been out of work because of an industrial action,” Dr Ochieng’ said.
“Through the efforts of our Governor and the executive of the County Government of Migori, we have come to an agreement with our clinicians to report back to work immediately.”
Dr Ochieng’ acknowledged that not all the grievances had been completely resolved but said progress had been made.
“The issues which they had, some have been addressed and some are work in progress,” he said.
He expressed hope that the agreement would prevent another industrial dispute between the county administration and healthcare workers.
“We hope that going forward, we won’t have such an industrial action again,” he said.
The county’s health chief also appealed to residents to return to public health facilities for treatment now that clinical officers have resumed duty.
“To our Migorians, this is to inform you that our clinicians are fully back to work. Please come to our facilities for treatment,” Dr Ochieng’ said.
Deductions not part of dispute
The union also dismissed questions over unremitted statutory deductions, saying the issue did not feature in the Migori clinical officers’ strike.
“In Migori County, we don’t have issues with statutory deductions which are not being remitted as far as our members are concerned. We’ve not had that,” the representative said.
“Maybe it affects other counties, but in our county, the deductions are being remitted. So that didn’t form part of our strike.”
The clarification separates the Migori dispute from other labour disputes that may involve allegations concerning statutory deductions.
Now comes the implementation test
With clinical officers expected back at their workstations, attention now shifts from negotiations to implementation.
The September salary will provide the first major test of the county’s commitment on the enhanced risk allowance arrears, while the committee headed by Dr Ochieng’ will be expected to address the job-group concerns affecting the 14 officers.
At the same time, the proposed comprehensive insurance framework will have to move from the technical working group to actual implementation.
For patients who depend on county health facilities, however, the immediate priority is the restoration of uninterrupted services.
After weeks of industrial action, both sides have chosen dialogue as the route forward. The three-month review period will provide an opportunity for the union and county administration to assess how far the commitments made at the negotiating table have been translated into action.
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