Nairobi nurses set strike date
Jane Mbungu, a nurse at Mbagathi Hospital in Nairobi, attending to new born babies on August 19, 2014. FILE PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |
What you need to know:
- The Union has said failure by the county to resolve their grievances within 14 days would lead to a strike.
- The unionists also want the Public Service Commission of Nairobi to address the shortage of staff at Pumwani Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
Nurses in Nairobi are planning to go on strike on January 20 after shelving plans to stage a strike on Tuesday.
The leadership of the Kenya National Union of Nurses said they postponed the strike to give the Nairobi County Public Service Board time to meet since the board members are currently on leave.
They have however said failure by the county to resolve their grievances within 14 days would lead to a strike.
“We issued a strike notice on December 15 last year to the CEO, County Public Service Board, but they informed us the majority of the board members were on holiday and would convene in January.
“We want them to convene and address the matters raised in the strike notice, ” KNUN deputy secretary-general Eunice Ngare told a press conference held in Nairobi on Tuesday.
WITHHELD SALARIES
Among other grievances, the union wants immediate payment of withheld salaries of staff on Economic Stimuli Program as well as their absorption into permanent and pensionable terms by the County Public Service Board.
“We also want harmonisation of salaries and allowances of nurses in Nairobi County since as at now, pay disparity among the nurses is really wide,” said Ms Ngare. She called for the promotion of nurses who had furthered their education but were still stuck in previous job groups.
The nurses’ union is also faulting the county’s lack of essential services in hospitals, citing disconnection of power and water supplies at Makadara and Jericho health centres due to unpaid bills.
The unionists, who insisted that Nairobi’s challenges were unique in comparison to other parts of Kenya, also want the Public Service Commission of Nairobi to address the shortage of staff at Pumwani Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
