Public health officers have suspended their nationwide strike after 94 days, ending one of the longest stoppages in Kenya's health sector this year and returning thousands of disease surveillance staff to their posts in the middle of the country's Ebola response.

The Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union announced the decision in Kitui County on Sunday, October 25, after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale agreed to facilitate negotiations between the union and the government. The industrial action has been suspended for 30 days to give room for talks, not called off outright.

Back to work within 24 hours

Union Secretary General Brown Ashira directed members stationed at border points and in county governments to resume duty within 24 hours. Speaking in Kitui, he linked the decision directly to the Ebola outbreak, telling officers that the union wanted to ensure the population was protected and safeguarded.

"In the wake of Ebola, we want to make sure that our population are protected, safeguarded," Ashira said, according to Kenyans.co.ke.

The union also signed a return-to-work formula with the Kitui County government, and said it expects other counties to sign similar agreements in the coming days. Comprehensive talks with the national government are expected to take place within the 30-day window.

Ashira warned that members could down their tools again if the government fails to address their grievances within the agreed period, according to reports by Capital FM and KDRTV.

What the officers want

Public health officers are responsible for food safety inspections, sanitation, port-of-entry screening and community disease surveillance, roles that have taken on added weight since Kenya confirmed its first imported Ebola case in early October.

The union's demands include:

formal government recognition of the union as a registered body; the finalisation, signing and implementation of a pending collective bargaining agreement (CBA); recruitment and nationwide posting of more officers and payment of interns; conversion of contract and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) jobs into permanent and pensionable positions; and payment of risk allowances and better working conditions for staff involved in outbreak response.

The officers have also opposed the transfer of personnel and assets to the Kenya National Public Health Institute without consultation and a separate budget.

During the strike, officers staged street protests in Nairobi carrying placards calling for the posting and payment of public health interns and the signing of their CBA, K24 Digital reported.

Blame game between Afya House and counties

The stoppage has played out against a long-running dispute between the national government and counties over who is responsible for health workers' pay and terms. Duale has previously blamed county governments for delays in absorbing more than 7,400 UHC workers into permanent payrolls, saying Sh8.6 billion had been set aside for the transition.

Former Council of Governors health committee chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi, the Wajir Governor, has in turn accused the Ministry of Health of fuelling repeated strikes by failing to honour intergovernmental agreements.

The suspension comes as students training in public health had threatened nationwide protests over the prolonged stoppage, and as the government races to keep surveillance tight at borders, airports and in communities while it counts down towards declaring Kenya free of Ebola.

The next 30 days will test whether the talks can produce a signed agreement. With the union keeping the option of resuming the strike, the outcome will depend on how quickly the national government and counties agree on recognition, the CBA and the long-delayed confirmation of UHC staff.

Photos: K24 Digital (public health officers' protest in Nairobi); The Star (Health CS Aden Duale)