Nurses to strike if governors fail to honour salary agreement

Kenya National Union of Nurses acting secretary genera Maurice Opetu addresses a press conference at their offices in Nairobi on June 2, 2017, on the status of collective bargaining agreement. He said governors have not yet signed the agreement. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • By failing to sign the agreement, Mr Opetu said the governors are sabotaging the resolution.
  • Ms Mogeni said the Council of Governors is following due process to ensure the CBA will not face any legal challenges.

The Kenya National Union of Nurses has threatened to go on strike on Monday if the collective bargaining agreement agreed upon by the union and the Council of Governors is not signed and registered in court.

This comes after nurses accused governors of failing to honour the 2013 CBA renegotiated in December last year bringing the countrywide strike to an end.

It was supposed to be signed by the two parties on June 2, 2017.

SALARY INCREASE

The agreement offered nurses in the G-L job groups an annual pay out of Sh20,000 and Sh15, 000 for those in group M and above.

Sixty per cent of the deal was to be honoured in January this year and the remainder in July 1.

The union's acting secretary general Maurice Opetu said that the National Executive Council had resolved to call for a nationwide strike set to commence on June 5.

"It is very unfortunate, painful but as nurses and the union, we are left with no option but to take the position we have taken today.

"Between now and Monday, if the deal is not signed the nurses are not going to report on duty on June 5. We are going to down our tools at midnight on Sunday," Mr Opetu said.

SABOTAGE

By failing to sign the agreement, Mr Opetu said the governors are sabotaging the resolution.

He added that the County Public Service Board and the union consented that all nurses be upgraded, and instructed the CoG to write to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission conveying no objection to the reform.

"We have been patient from December to date...the council of governors has chosen to remain silent except doing an irrelevant communication to SRC not mentioning the resolution of the meeting of May 26 and minutes signed therein," he said.

He added that the union had postponed a strike on March 2 to give the two levels of government time to conclude the negotiation, hoping to sign an agreement they had reached on May 3.

But this never materialised.

GOVERNORS COMMITTED

Ms Jacqueline Mogeni, council’s chief executive, refuted the sabotage claim, saying that the Council of Governors is following due process to ensure that the CBA will not face any legal challenges and that it is registered as required by law.

"The Council reiterates that it is committed to the conclusion of this process in a manner that is legally acceptable and registrable.

"There is no point in any member of the negotiating teams to put pressure on each other. The negotiating team is awaiting for no objection and then the signing by each county will start," Ms Mogeni told Sunday Nation.

She added that the negotiations have been ongoing since December and at the conclusion of the process the document was forwarded to SRC for guidance, and if in concurrence then the 'no objection' letter will be issue.