Nurses union pushes forward strike to give time for dialogue with State

The Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) has pushed its planned nationwide strike from July 7 to August 3, 2025.

This they said is aimed at giving dialogue with government agencies a final chance.

Speaking on Friday during a press briefing at a Nairobi hotel, KNUNM General Secretary Seth Panyako cited long-standing grievances.

He said some of the issues stretch over seven years and remain unresolved despite repeated appeals.

"Following the meeting that had been held today, the strike that was supposed to start on July 7, 2025, the council has unanimously resolved to extend the strike notice for 30 days," said Panyako.

However, Panyako warned that if the talks fail, nurses will strike on Sunday, August 3.

The union had issued the initial strike notice on Thursday, May 29, demanding that the government address acute nurse shortages in public health facilities and implement the return-to-work formula signed on Thursday, November 2, 2017.

"Despite our constant requests, the government has failed to assimilate UHC Nurses under permanent and pensionable terms. They have failed to implement the new salary agreement of 2024. This time, if they don't address our concerns, we will strike unanimously across the country county will be left out," Panyako said, maintaining that his team is open to dialogue and the need to keep a cordial working relationship.

The union's chairperson, Joseph Ngwasi, said the government has also failed to address the acute nurse shortage in public health facilities, leading to burnout among the few available nurses.

"Overburdened staff can cause increased cases of deaths as patients needing urgent or ongoing care may suffer complications or die due to a lack of timely intervention", he said.

Nurses in Kenya have gone on strike multiple times over the past decade, mainly over pay, staffing, promotions, and working conditions.

The most notable strike in recent memory was in 2017, which lasted over 100 days and paralyzed services in public hospitals.

The Return-to-Work Formula signed then was meant to address most of their grievances, but implementation has been slow or absent, according to the union.

The latest strike notice has been formally submitted to the Ministry of Health, Social Health Authority (SHA), Public Service Commission (PSC), and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).