The nationwide nurses’ strike has entered its third week, with health workers continuing their industrial action despite a Mombasa Employment and Labour Relations Court order directing them to return to work.
In Kisumu, the strike has continued to paralyze operations in major public hospitals. The nurses have vowed to remain on strike until their demands on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula and the employment terms of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) nurses are addressed.
The current dispute is centres on two key issues: The Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) rejection of the 2025–2029 Unified National Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and outstanding financial provisions contained in the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula, which the nurses say remain unfulfilled.
Speaking during demonstrations in Kisumu on Wednesday, Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Kisumu Branch Secretary Andrew Otieno said nurses would not return to work until the issues affecting them were resolved.
Otieno said the nurses’ 2023–2025 CBA expired without being recognized or implemented, despite other health cadres having their CBAs negotiated and implemented.
“We are saying we are not going to tire. We are going to remain focused and remain firm until our CBA is signed,” Otieno said.
He accused the employer, the Council of Governors (COG), the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the national government of sidelining nurses in the implementation of collective agreements.
Otieno said nurses were demanding equal treatment, arguing that other health workers had been engaged in negotiations and had their CBAs implemented.
Kenya National Union of Nurses Kisumu Branch Chairman Joakim Makori on his part said an agreement signed between the nurses and their employer included provisions for uniform, nursing service and risk allowances, but none had been implemented.
Makori also demanded clear career progression guidelines for nurses, saying the lack of such guidelines had hindered their professional advancement.
He said nurses were also awaiting a new collective agreement covering the period 2025–2029, following an earlier agreement reached in 2024.
Makori said the nurses would continue with the strike until their employer engages them, reaches a new agreement and submits it to court for implementation.
“We’ll keep striking until they recognize that our services are needed,” Makori said.
On the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula, Otieno said nurses were concerned that almost a decade after it was signed, some of its provisions had yet to be implemented.
He rejected calls for the agreement to be renegotiated, saying the union considered it an agreement between institutions rather than individuals who occupied office at the time it was signed.
“We are saying unless our return-to-work agreement that was signed in 2017 is implemented to the fullest, we as nurses shall not go back to work,” he said.
Otieno also raised concerns over nurses employed under the UHC programme, saying some had received payslips indicating that they were permanent and pensionable but had not received formal appointment letters.
He said the nurses wanted hard-copy appointment letters confirming their employment status and identifying their employer before resuming duty.
Union official said nurses would remain firm despite what he termed intimidation of those participating in the strike, insisting that their industrial action was lawful.
“Let us stand firm as nurses of Kisumu, that we may be heard and our CBA signed,” he said.
“The strike is legal. We know the law and you know the law. Our strike is legal,” Otieno added.
Otieno said the nurses had visited the Kisumu County Government offices for the second time after being called for a meeting, but maintained that their position remained unchanged.
He explained that negotiations over the CBA were being handled at the national level, with the Ministry of Labour having formed a negotiating team and given a mandate to a conciliator.
Otieno further appealed to President William Ruto to intervene and listen to the concerns raised by nurses.
“Listen to our cries. We are being oppressed and our rights are being denied,” he said.
He urged nurses in Kisumu County to remain united as they push for the resolution of their grievances.
“Divided we fall, united we stand. Let us stand firm,” Otieno said.
The nurses’ strike has brought renewed attention to disputes over collective bargaining agreements, implementation of return-to-work agreements, career progression and the employment terms of health workers recruited under the UHC programme.
By Mabel Keya – Shikuku and Valery Nyagaka
