Kenya Association of Health Administrators has moved to court seeking orders to suspend the payment of the Covid-19 medical allowance and benefits to frontline health workers in the national and county government.
The association accuses SRC of omitting them from the list of Covid-19 medical allowance without offering any explanation despite them being on duty in hospitals and being critical essential services providers and among the critical cadres in healthy care.
“This court do issue conservatory orders temporarily restraining the Ministry of health from implementing Salaries and Remuneration Commission directive communicated vide a letter dated 28th April or making the payment of the Covid-19 medical emergency allowance and benefits for frontline health workers in national and county government”, states the association.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari the petitioners argue that they were unjustifiably, unreasonably and callously omitted from the list of beneficiaries as proposed by SRC yet it’s members are in charge of supervising the other beneficiaries and responsible for the smooth running of hospital operations.
The petitioners aver that on above mentioned date, SRC wrote to the Cabinet Secretary, Treasury directing him to pay the COVID-19 medical emergency allowance and benefits for frontline health workers in the national and county governments in the manner proposed thereunder.
It is their submission that our of the seventeen cadres, the commission considered sixteen cadres for the provision and award of the COVID-19 medical emergency allowance and deliberately omitted the applicant without offering any explanation.
“SRC has perpetually discriminated members of the applicant by unreasonably and arbitrarily denying them their entitlements by way of the extraneous allowances and the risk allowances while making provision for other health workers and they have perpetually suffered discrimination and unequal treatment from their peers and colleagues, which injustice has been perpetuated by the 1st Respondent who have historically ignored the place of the applicant in the provision of proper health care to Kenyans,” said Omari.
Emily Orina, KAHA Secretary General says that the association members are central to the smooth running of any hospital in Kenya as they are responsible for and oversees all support services such as maintenance of all the hospital equipment including but not limited to ambulances, supplies, all support staffs including drivers, cleaners, mortuary attendants and hospital accountants who are often seconded from the treasury and also in charge of record keeping and play a key role in the organogram of any hospital.
