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Some 3,467 striking nurses have yet to resume duty even after President Uhuru Kenyatta threatened that they would be sacked.
According to the Council of Governors (CoG), only 587 nurses have reported back to work.
Some 4,054 nurses participated in the strike to demand the implementation of their 2017 return-to-work formula that awarded them Sh10,000 in addition to their Sh20,000 nursing service allowance and another Sh15,000 on their Sh10,000 uniform allowance.
The money, according to the deal to which both the Ministry of Health and CoG are signatories, stipulated that the money was to be paid in three tranches between 2018 and 2021.
This, however, has not happened.
No end
Of the 11 counties where the workers went on strike, no nurse in Kisumu and Homa Bay has resumed duty.
However, not all nurses participated in the strike. In Kisii County, 326 nurses were on strike, but 414 did not participate.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) officials are expected in court today for failing to suspend the strike as earlier ordered.
CoG has directed all county bosses not to remit the union dues to Knun.
“In view of the above, county governments should not deduct and remit the union dues to Knun. Instead, the full salaries should be paid to the nurses to enable them remit their dues to the union if they so wish,” wrote CoG Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya in a letter dated February 15, 2019.
However, Knun, in a letter to CoG dated February 16, 2019, has threatened to sue if the counties go ahead and withhold the dues.
In the letter, Knun General Secretary Seth Panyako gave the CoG seven days to withdraw the directive or face contempt proceedings.
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