Health services in Homa Bay County have been disrupted after nurses officially commenced an industrial strike, citing unmet demands by the county government.
The strike follows a notice issued by KNUN officials on Friday, warning that nurses would down their tools starting Monday, 30 March, if their concerns were not addressed.
Led by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Homa Bay branch chair Emerdick Otieno Okeyo, the nurses emphasized that they will not resume duty until all grievances are addressed.
“We have started our industrial strike and we will not back down until our demands are met,” stressed Okeyo.
According to the union, all the 751 nurses employed by the county government are on strike.
Among their key demands is the promotion of 220 nurses, some of whom have reportedly stagnated in the same job group for up to 10 years.
The nurses are also calling for the redesignation of 116 colleagues who were previously released by the county government to pursue further studies. Despite completing their training and being redeployed to their various workstations, the affected nurses have yet to be redesignated to match their qualifications.
In addition, the union is demanding the employment of at least 100 more nurses to address staffing shortages in health facilities across the county.
He also cited salary-related grievances, stating that some nurses have not received their salaries for August and September 2022.
Okeyo noted that 83 nurses who were affected by a 2023 PricewaterhouseCoopers audit, were reinstated but have allegedly not been paid for the period they worked while off the payroll.
The union also raised concerns over third-party deductions, accusing the county government of failing to remit funds deducted from their salaries. They cited unremitted loan repayments to Co-operative Bank of Kenya dating back to January 2024, questioning the whereabouts of the deducted money.
They further demanded payment of pending salary arrears and gratuity, warning that they will not participate in any negotiations until these dues are settled.
“We are saying unless you pay the salary arrears and gratuity and issue our nurses with promotional letters, do not invite us to a negotiation table because we will not come,” Okeyo stated.
The nurses expressed regret over the disruption of healthcare services, emphasizing that the strike was a last resort.
“We did not apply for nursing jobs to stay at home. We also feel bad staying away when we should be offering essential services to patients. But until the county government meets our demands, we will remain on strike,” the chair said.
by Sitna Omar
