Residents of Homa Bay County are breathing a sigh of relief after nurses called off their strike on Wednesday.
The County Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Secretary General, Emmardic Okeyo, said the move follows negotiations with Department of Health officials to address their grievances.
Over the past nine days, Homa Bay residents have been suffering after the nurses downed their tools. Wards in most sub-county hospitals remained shut due to a lack of nurses to attend to patients.
The nurses’ representatives held a meeting with the County Secretary, Benard Muok, and the CECM for Health, Grace Osewe, following which the strike was called off.
Okeyo said the county’s top officials promised to address their grievances, including the recruitment of an additional 30 nurses by the end of this month, to ease the shortage of nurses.
On promotion, the county government promised to promote 221 nurses by April 30. The county government also promised to issue re-designation letters to 116 nurses by April 30 after they pursued further education, achieving higher academic qualifications.
The County government will also begin paying salary arrears and gratuity from the end of this month. This is meant for nurses who served under contracts before they were appointed to permanent and pensionable terms.
Okeyo said that the County government is also committed to start remitting the pending statutory deductions by June this year.
Another pledge was that nurses will start enjoying comprehensive medical cover by the end of this month. The county government will also begin paying the nurses their leave allowances from next month.
Okeyo said most of their grievances were addressed and a roadmap had been put in place to meet the demands that had not been met.
“Most of our grievances have been addressed and modalities have been put in place to address the ones that have not been achieved,” he said.
“Our strike, which has been going on for the last nine days, has come to an end. It’s now time to work,” Okeyo said.
Prof. Muok said the county government addressed the nurses’ grievances promptly to ensure residents got medical services.
“Our objective is to ensure Homa Bay residents get the best quality health services they deserve,” said the county secretary.
By Davis Langat
