Healthcare services in Nakuru County remained paralysed today as nurses maintained their strike, demanding payment of July salaries and full implementation of their Collective Bargaining Agreement with the county government.
The Nakuru walkout is part of a nationwide nurses’ strike now in its fifth week, which the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) on Monday declared will continue indefinitely after talks with the Council of Governors (CoG) hit a deadlock over the long-pending 2017 CBA.
Speaking during a media briefing in Nairobi on September 1, KNUNM Secretary General Seth Panyako dismissed claims that a deal had been reached, saying the CBA remains the sticking point. “The elephant in the room about our strike is CBA. This is where we are drawing a line. We do not have a deal yet,” Panyako said, accusing CoG chair Ahmed Abdullahi of intimidating nurses and running away from an agreement signed in 2017.
In Nakuru, local officials of the National Nurses Association of Kenya said they had served the County Government with a strike notice and will only resume duties once outstanding agreements are honoured, including confirmation of nurses employed under Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on permanent and pensionable terms and implementation of career progression guidelines.
“We will remain on strike until the county responds to our demands, including payment of our July salaries and implementation of agreements with KNUN,” Nurses in Nakuru said.
The Council of Governors has maintained that the 2017 CBA was signed under duress and is financially unsustainable, with Chair Ahmed Abdullahi urging nurses to obey a court order suspending the strike and return to work as negotiations for a new 2025-2029 CBA continue. Governors also argue that Parliament must entrench funding for UHC staff in the Division of Revenue.
Patients in Nakuru Level 5 Hospital and other sub-county facilities have been left stranded, with many forced to seek services in private hospitals. The county government is yet to issue a comprehensive statement on when July salaries will be paid, as the union insists the strike will go on until a formal return-to-work formula is signed.
In an official response Council of Governors Chair Ahmed Abdullahi While defending CoG position, he said there is already a court order suspending the strike:”There’s a court order suspending this strike… Let’s obey the law”And on finances:CoG claims the contested CBA was signed under duress and is financially unsustainable.
We will remain on strike until the county responds to our demands, including payment of our July salaries and implementation of agreements with KNUN
Nurse, Nakuru County
