Doctors' Strike: More Crisis Looms In Hospitals As Nurses Threaten To Join Industrial Action

• Doctors who have been on strike for more than 50 days now have refused to call off their strike until the government gives in to their demands
• Kenyan nurses have given the government seven days to meet their demands, or else they join the doctors on strike
• Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) deputy Secretary General Maurice Opetu said that they need the government to give them new contracts

Nurses have threatened to join the ongoing doctors' strike if the government does not honour and implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in 2017 within the next seven days.

Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Secretary General Seth Panyako asserted that nurses have reached a point where they have lost confidence in the government unless it operates as a unified entity.

Panyako asserted that the government had altered its approach to employee engagements without prior notification to nurse leaders, a practice they strongly oppose.

As a result, the leaders expressed dissatisfaction, stating that they were compelled to communicate salary adjustments to their members, portraying them unfavourably due to the lack of consultation by the government.

The union further attributed its decision to issue a strike notice to the government's delayed implementation of the CBA.

" The contracts as they are, are illegal and unattainable; therefore, if they say they want to extend the contract, they are extending illegalities that we as the union cannot encourage and cannot entertain," KNUN deputy secretary General Maurice Opetu said.

According to a report by Citizen TV, the union intends to engage with their governing council this week, seeking approval to initiate industrial action.

How is the doctors' strike going?

The doctors have refused to call off their ongoing strike that has been on for more than 50 days now.

They refused to sign a return to work formula on Friday, May 3. However, the government proceeded to sign the deal to end the ongoing doctors' strike.

Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha stated that the decision was made in accordance with the High Court ruling.

Nakhumicha expressed gratitude to all healthcare workers who persevered in their duties despite the ongoing strike by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists' Union (KMPDU).

KMPDU doctors fired

Earlier on, some members of KMPDU began receiving termination notices amid the ongoing strike.

Among those dismissed is Dennis Miskellah, the deputy secretary-general of KMPDU.

He asserted that his salary ceased 19 months prior and although reinstatement was promised, he received a termination letter instead, attributed to his involvement in the ongoing strike.

In an interview with NTV, Miskellah emphasized that all striking doctors understand the necessity of paying a price to accomplish their objectives.

What else you need to know about doctors' strike

• On May 2, a section of healthcare workers in the United States of America staged protests in solidarity with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
• During Labour Day on May 1, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah stated that doctors have nothing to celebrate.
• KMPDU stated that its members won't resume work despite the government's commitment to honour 18 out of the 19 grievances that informed their strike.

Proofreading by Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke