Citing a broken health system, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Embu branch has sent a strike warning to the national government.
Speaking to the media from their offices, the officials exposed the terrible conditions in hospitals and called for a seven-day government takeover.
The teachers expressed worries about prejudice in certain hospitals, delays in hospital admissions, and their inability to obtain treatment. Difficulties in coordinating hospital referrals and procuring funds for orthopedic implants for accident victims are further obstacles.
Issues teachers have with their hospital health insurance coverage were also brought up by Eric Kim were, the KUPPET Embu branch’s health coordinator.
“Since they have comprehensive health insurance coverage, teachers should not be able to request Harambees,” claimed Kim were.
There isn’t a choice for KUPPET. We will urge our members to demonstrate that we are unwilling to continue with this monkey business by taking to the streets, as we have finally decided that enough is enough,” he reaffirmed.
Teachers receive monthly deductions for subpar hospital care that do not correspond to their contributions, which infuriated union officials. To promote efficient operations, Executive Secretary Jacob Karura urged the TSC to pay off outstanding medical debt.
“Hospitals have not received government funding for the past nine months. We are begging TSC to provide the funds,” Karura remarked.
He restated, “The government should get drugs right away so teachers can get treatment.”
Karura also expressed concern about the frequency with which instructors turned to fundraising efforts despite valid insurance policies. According to him, the government was not sending insurance bodies their deductions. The union confirmed that their letters to the appropriate authorities have been returned unanswered.
“The employer has not paid hospitals, according to what we have been told. That is not a matter for us. We have been taken advantage of and all we want is treatment,” they said.
The Union threatened to march to the head offices of insurance companies to demand their rights if their issues were not resolved within the following seven days. Tenery Hospital and Imara Hospital are two of the hospitals impacted.
Regarding rumors that the Finance Bill 2024 rejection will impact teacher employment, KUPPET recommended the government hire teachers on a permanent and pensionable basis, without citing this as a justification for their indifference to assigning teachers a higher priority.