Kenya, Nairobi, March 18 – The Kenya Civil Service Coalition has been called for a nationwide demonstration scheduled for Tuesday after government intervention in closed territory on Monday.
The union has announced a strike to protest sustained delays by government departments and agencies remitting health insurance funds to the Social Health Agency (SHA).
Secretary-General Tom Odage confirmed the suspension of the protest, citing the commitment by the Ministry of Public Services and Human Capital Development to resolve the issue.
“The sustained and unresolved systemic issues at SHA, which led to a lack of access to health services by our members, forced the union to seek major demonstrations on March 18, 2025,” Odege said.
The decision followed a high-level stakeholder meeting held at the Kenya Government School (KSG) in Cabete, where representatives of unions, government and other key actors left thousands of civil servants without access to health services.
Timely monthly transfers
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary of Public Services and Human Capital Development issued directives to all key secretaries and treasurers, instructing them to ensure timely transfers of the state health insurance fund (SHIF) deduction to the SHA by the 7th of each month.
“Therefore, we advise members to put their intentions on hold to demonstrate tomorrow and await the outcome,” Odege pointed out.
The coalition threatened strike measures amid a deadlock as public sector workers faced denial of health services due to the intolerant SHIF deductions.
The union emphasized that it will continue to monitor the implementation of directives to protect the welfare of its members while the demonstrations are suspended.
The cancellation of the strike occurred amid a public service diskate, with the SHA denounced the government department over non-payment of premiums.
