Nurses have issued a seven-day strike notice, demanding that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff be placed on the government payroll and issued with permanent and pensionable employment letters.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) outlined its grievances in letters addressed to the Cabinet Secretaries for Health and Public Service, the Council of Governors (CoG), the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
According to the union, workers will withdraw their services across county health facilities from July 29 if the dispute remains unresolved.
“To the Kenyan public, we regret the immense disruption and suffering this impending action will inevitably cause to public medical facilities across the nation. However, a demotivated, unprotected, and underpaid nursing workforce is a direct threat to safe patient care,” the statement read.
“The ultimate responsibility for any impending healthcare paralysis rests squarely on the shoulders of government officials who continually choose administrative negligence over human lives. We remain open to meaningful dialogue, but we will no longer accept empty political rhetoric. Give Kenyan nurses and midwives their rightful terms of service, or face a complete standstill of the public health system”, the notice added.
This comes at a time when healthcare workers have raised concerns after the President directed county governments to place more than 7,400 UHC workers on permanent and pensionable terms.
