Nurses warn 'traitor' colleagues over strike

Members of the Kenya National Union of Nurses nationwide demonstrate from Uhuru Park to Council of Governors to push the Government to implement their CBA (Photo: Courtesy)

Nurses have accused some of their colleagues of betraying their fight for better pay.

It is claimed that some nurses have gone back to work after their counties paid their salaries, but only for the days they worked last month.

The officials of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun), led by Acting Secretary General Maurice Opetu, have cautioned nurses against delivering any humanitarian service to the public until the strike is resolved.

Opetu accused nurses in managerial positions of planning to paralyse the 52-day strike by 'sweet-talking' some of their colleagues to go back to work.

Spreading rumours

"We know of colleagues (nursing managers) who are out spreading rumours. Let the students who are not in school do the work but we are not heeding your calls. We are staying put," said Opetu as he addressed nurses at Uhuru Park in Nairobi.

Knun National Treasurer Agnes Munderu said nurses should not agree to be used by their managers to offer humanitarian services in abandoned hospitals.

Despite being out of their stations for more than 50 days to push for their Sh7.2 billion pay demand, nurses have only had two meetings with their employers in a bid to resolve the impasse.

The latest one was last Thursday and it ended abruptly, with the nurses storming out, arguing that the negotiating team from the governors' side did not have a clear agenda. However, the Council of Governors' office said some progress had been made.