Health workers issue a strike notice.
Health workers issue a strike notice; In a joint press release, Kenya national union of Nurses together with Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO), Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists (KNUPT), and Kenya Union of Nutritionists and Dieticians (KUNAD) called on the ministry of health to sign the collective bargaining agreement( CBA) with health workers.
The Kenya National union of Nurses, Secretary General Seth Panyako stated that the current regime had shortchanged health workers.
Panyako stated,”We have given government enough time, the Ministry of Health should facilitate CBA signing which was started in 2017 to be concluded in 60 days.”
Panyako revealed that they had written several letters to the government about this issue, but the Ministry of Health was not responding positively, instead, they cited that they are still transitioning.
KUCO secretary general George Gibore decried that county governments were frustrating unions efforts finishing the draft of CBAs and called upon the head of state, President William Ruto to intervene in the matter.
He stated, “Health workers have not enjoyed a pay rise for the last 7 years. A health worker was poorer today than they were 7 years ago due to the current inflation, a fact that has seen Kenya lose many highly specialized and experienced health workers to other countries.”
“While CBAs for KUCO and KNUN remained unconcluded, the other unions have not been able to start off the process and have been denied recognition agreements. It is now clear there are delay measures to delay the process and deny health workers their right to fair remuneration, reasonable working environment and collective bargaining,” they added.
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