All Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) employees who were sent home to pave way for reforms must be reinstated with immediate effect, the Researchers union has said.
The Union of National Research and Allied Institutes Staff of Kenya (UNRISK) secretary-general Zechariah Achacha said the decision by the KEMSA board of management to abruptly order about 2,000 Kemsa employees to stop reporting for duty was not only shocking but painful and unprocedural.
"The purpose of this petition is to seek for your immediate intervention in this matter to restore order and normalcy for the sake of about 2,000 Kemsa employees and by extension, several thousands of their extended families or dependents," reads the petition dated November 8, this year.
The petition is copied to Labour CS Simon Chelugui, Kemsa chief executive officer, COTU secretary general Francis Atwoli and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) executive director.
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The UNRISK secretary-general also dismissed reports that only 900 staff were sent home arguing that a total of 2,000 employees who including permanent casual and contract employees were affected at Kemsa following the abrupt decision to send workers home.
Kemsa board of management led by Chairperson Mary Mwadime last Thursday sent home the workers as it moves to undertake reforms guided by a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) which was formulated and executed before the release of staff.
The decision followed findings of a recent survey that revealed that Kemsa is underperforming and is unable to deliver services to Kenyans amidst the Sh7.8 billion scandal relating to the procurement of Covid-19 emergency equipment.
Some of the problems revealed included, financial crisis, lack of financial control, uncollected debts, supply chain crisis, warehousing and distribution problems, deadstock, and purchase of non-priority items.
Addressing journalists in Malindi, Kilifi County where he was accompanied by the union trustee member Peter Nyambok and assistant organization secretary Jeremiah Katuli, Mr. Achacha said the union is not preventing any form of investigation at Kemsa but investigations should not put the jobs of innocent employees at risk.
"We appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to get to the bottom of this issue and order immediate resumption of Kemsa employees to work, there should be no loss of jobs at Kemsa, whether permanent, casual or contract employment," he said adding "the government has all the machinery to investigate any sort of malpractice at Kemsa and only those found culpable should be subjected to the full force of the law."
He said although they are ready for dialogue to ensure the Kemsa employees return back to work, they might be forced to move to Court to seek justice for its 1,500 members at Kemsa affected by the board of management decision should the government fail to act on the petition to reinstate the employees to work.
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Last Tuesday, the National Assembly’s Health committee chaired by Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege backed Kemsa’s decision to send home all its 900 workers and asked the affected employees to patiently wait for the reform process to go on to its logical conclusion.
This comes days after the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi issued temporal orders stopping Kemsa from enlisting the military and National Youth Service from overseeing its operations, pending the hearing of a case filed by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, Dentists Union (KMPDU).
The orders issued by Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Ocharo Kibera also restrains Kemsa from sacking their employees pending hearing and determination of the application.
*This article was written by Ramadhan Kambi for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews24@gmail.com to submit your story.
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