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Nurses sent home as pressure mounts to end strike

 Kenya national union of nurses secretary general Seth Panyako flanked by other officials after a meeting on the negotiated CBA to the National governing council and also accused John Bii of various constitutional malpractices including forging union letterheads and using them to communicate to other corporate organizations. Photo by WILLIS AWANDU

Murang'a County Director of Medical Services Winfred Kanyi on Wednesday said only 244 nurses responded to the plea to return to work as others continued with the strike, which is now over 100 days old.

In Nyandarua County, Governor Francis Kimemia said his administration was in talks with the striking nurses in an effort to end the stand off, while Kakamega County has warned it could fire the health workers by the end of the month.

Dr Kanyi said the county would hire 427 nurses to replace their boycotting colleagues who turned down a request by the Council of Governors (CoG) to return to work.

She said the county government had had to engage 35 nurses on casual terms in addition to those who failed to join their colleagues in the strike, which has since been declared illegal.

“The human resource department was working to advertise the positions to enable full operations in public health facilities in Murang’a,” said Kanyi.

Crucial services

Speaking in her office, she said crucial services at the county referral hospital such as maternity, gynaecology and labour had been re-opened following the hiring of the 35 nurses.

“Other departments have been operational after the 35 were engaged,” she said.

In Nyandarua, Mr Kimemia assured nurses that they would not be sacked. Speaking to the press in Ol Kalou town yesterday, the governor noted that the majority of nurses had expressed interests in returning to work.

He also challenged the CoG to look for a workable formula to end the stand-off.

“I want to assure the nurses that my administration will not sack them but dialogue will be initiated. They are professionals from Nyandarua and we cannot afford to sack them,” he said.

The governor faulted the approach some governors were using to address the nurses' strike, saying sacking was not a good solution.

“We will meet with them to come up with a solution to end the stalemate. It is a shame that patients have suffered for a long time without a solution being reached,” said Kimemia.

Elsewhere, Kakamega Health Executive Peninah Mukabane said the nurses would have to go without their pay as they had defied orders to return to work.

Ms Mukabane said the county would not pay for services not rendered.

Stayed away

“Those who have stayed away from their work stations since September 8, 2017, will not be paid as they await their sacking letters,” she said.

The county official said the Labour Relations Court had declared the ongoing nurses' strike illegal.

“Based on the court verdict on September 1, the counties have powers to take any form of action against them if they continue disregarding the directive to drop their unrealistic demands,” said Mukabane in her office yesterday.

She said the ruling allowed county governments to ensure that nurses' unions did not interrupt services in the health sector.

At least 1,133 nurses in the county have downed their tools demanding new terms of engagement and a pay hike according to Kenya National Union of Nurses Kakamega branch Secretary General, Renson Bulunya.

Mr Bulunya said the nurses are only answerable to the County Public Service Board and not individuals appointed by the governor.

Address issues

“She is not competent to address issues surrounding the strike and must keep off because nurses are answerable to the union, not her,” he argued.

He said the nurses had anticipated threats and intimidation from the county.

“If their intention is to sack our members, they might as well make good their threats because the strike is still on,” he said.

Several counties have already embarked on calling for qualified and interested individuals to apply for nursing positions.

But Mukabane said the county had decided to give nurses one last chance to reflect and make up their minds.

 [Report by Boniface Gikandi, James Munyeki and John Shilitsa]

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