Woman rep to sponsor Bill to ban medics’ strikes

Murang'a Woman Rep Sabina Chege has said she will introduce legislation to outlaw strikes by health workers.

She said if re-elected, she will rally her colleagues to change the laws that govern industrial action in the health sector.

She said the changes will help reduce suffering among Kenyans, who bear the brunt of frequent strikes by health workers.

“Life comes first and if anybody should abandon their duty for whatever reason and life is lost, it should not be taken lightly,” she said.

While it is constitutional for professionals to fight for better remuneration, Ms Chege said, it is criminal to watch people suffer and die because of selfish reasons.

“Issues of health are more important than anything else. It is wrong for anyone to walk out of a hospital and abandon patients who need urgent medical attention,” she said.

DEVOLVED

Ms Chege urged governors to show commitment to resolving the ongoing nurses' strike, noting that health is a devolved function.

She spoke after meeting the elderly in Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga in Murang'a.

On the implementation of the nurses’ collective bargaining agreement, Ms Chege urged the parties involved in the negotiations to fast-track its signing and registration.

In Murang’a County, hospitals remained deserted as security guards turned away patients.

Only patients who can afford care at private hospitals or have National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards are seeking medical services there.

Jane Wairimu, a Makuyu resident, said her mother had been admitted at Murang'a County Referral Hospital but her health was slowly deteriorating after she was ejected from there.

“My plea is for the government to address the nurses’ grievances so that they resume work. We are really suffering,” she said.