Nurses Strike Over 360 nurses in Laikipia County have vowed to join their counterparts in a national strike that is scheduled to start next week if the government will not have heeded to their pay demands. The nurses from all government health institutions in the county said that they will not be left behind warning all people who will have patients at the institutions to withdraw them before Monday. Addressing the press In Nanyuki, the Kenya National Union of Nurses Laikipia branch officials said that the government has totally refused to sign their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which was reached at in 2007. The branch executive secretary Charity Kaimenyi said that despite the government having pledged with the nurses to give it six months to comply nothing is forthcoming and hence the step to start an industrial action. Kaimenyi noted that uniform, overtime and office allowances were some of the most contentious issues that they want addressed. “We urge all people who will have patients in all our institution to know that the strike will be on starting Monday and there will be no one to take care of them. Therefore make sure you withdraw them to avoid deaths,” said Peter Ndiva the organizing secretary The branch chairman Purity Matu said the county governments had agreed to pay the nurses on the agreed allowances but this would not be possible if the national government under the ministry of health does not sign the CBA She noted that the national union officials had met and agreed with the council of governors on how the nurses will be receiving their salaries but urged them to push for the signing of the agreement and release of their files to the county governments. Matu further said that the agreement seeks to have all nurses under contract employed permanently with a proposal on how other will be employed to ease shortage problem in the country. “The population of nurses is very low in most public health institutions and it is the high time the government permanently employed those on contract and devised a way to increase the number. We have been doing the donkey work yet are plight is not considered, it is now time,” concluded Matu Ends
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 07:50:55 +0000
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