Two Kenyans have moved to court seeking to stop the transition of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to Social Health Authority.

Gwaragwara Nkosi and Khadija Ali want the court to issue an order of injunction pending hearing and determination of the case where they have sued Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Attorney General, Social Health Authority and NHIF board.

The two also want an order stopping the transition committee either by themselves or agents from submitting their report to the president, Ministry of Health, social health authority Board and NHIF board.

According to them, the raising of salaries has caused disparities where the management staffs are earning less than the employees they are supervising.

They are asking the court to issue an order to the effect that by raising the salary of unionized NHIF employees without raising that of the management staff the respondents have violated the affected NHIF management staff rights not to be discriminated against.

“The disparity amounts to a serious payout audit query,” they say in court documents.

The want the court to compel SRC to review their salary saying that there is a clear violation of public service remuneration and benefits policy guidelines.

The Social Health Insurance Act provides the absorption into Social Health Authority and deployment into public service which in equal cases the disparity in salaries will affect all including the retirement as the last option.

“Unless this application is certified urgent the petitioners will continue to suffer prejudice through the violation of their fundamental rights and freedoms,” they argue.

It is their case that upon retirement the unionized employees negotiated a better redundancy term for its members within HF1 to HF7 while the management staff have not been considered for better terms including voluntary early, voluntary separation incentives terms of exit and risks suffering further from discrimination.