Nurses vow to push on with strike until counties ‘behave’
George Kebaso @Morarak
Nurses in the public sector have vowed to continue staying away from work as the nationwide labour dispute between them and their employer enters 38th day.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) on Tuesday advised its members not to relent maintaining a hard-liner position similar to that of the governors — who have said they do not have money to address their grievances that are largely based on poor working conditions.
Latest outcome is informed by the silence of the two levels of government, despite a meeting with the union on December 31, 2020 towards a return to work formula.
Knun Deputy General Secretary Morris Opetu yesterday said that despite the National and County Governments engaging amongst themselves with other State agencies in order to sign the Return To Work Formula (RTWK), a meeting between them on Monday aborted.
“It is unfortunate that even after fully engaging both levels of government in negotiating on the issues that were raised by the nurses through the multi-agency committee, and concluded and drafted a return to work agreement, the government has not moved to sign the agreement,” Opetu said.
Union has blamed the Council of Governors for the mishap, which the nurses hoped, would unlock the stalemate.
“In view of the above, we advise our members to stay put as we wait for the signing of the RTWK and have permanent solutions to our issues,” said Opetu.
Union leaders further said even if it takes more than one year, they will not go back to work if their issues are not addressed.
For instance, Knun said their colleagues working at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Kenyatta Nation Hospital will join in the strike due to difficult working conditions.
