The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) says it is ready to engage authorities in constructive dialogue to resolve the ongoing nationwide nurses’ strike.
However, the union maintains that the industrial action, triggered by delayed promotions, unremitted statutory deductions and demands for permanent contracts for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff, will continue until key agreements are implemented.
The nationwide strike, which began on July 29, 2026, centres on the non-implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), delayed implementation of county-level return-to-work agreements and the permanent absorption of UHC staff.
KNUN has vowed to continue with the strike, contending that the national and county governments have failed to implement the return-to-work formula agreed in 2017.
KNUN Secretary-General Seth Panyako said the union remained committed to constructive dialogue and finding lasting solutions that safeguard the welfare of healthcare workers while strengthening healthcare service delivery across the country.
Panyako spoke after holding a high-level consultative meeting with Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir, who is also the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) Committee on Health.
He said nurses would not return to work until the government honours agreements reached with the union in 2017.
Panyako said the strike was not about Mombasa County but was purely a national issue. He said Mombasa County had complied with the requirements by recruiting contract nurses to maintain normal hospital operations, while KNUN’s focus remained on addressing national concerns affecting nurses and midwives.
“We have met Governor Nassir to deliberate and explore solutions to resolving the ongoing nationwide nurses’ strike,” he said.
Panyako said the industrial action revolved around welfare and employment issues, maintaining that the dispute was with the employer and was not intended to harm patients.
He described the meeting as a major step towards resolving the nationwide nurses’ and midwives’ strike, which has disrupted services in public health facilities.
“We are committed to multi-level diplomacy and we aggressively continue to pursue structured engagements at both the county and national levels to address labour grievances and restore normalcy in our health facilities,” he said.
Panyako said KNUN had given the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) a seven-day ultimatum, expiring later this month, to issue letters of no objection and sign pending CBAs. He warned that failure to resolve the issues could see the union escalate the strike to national referral hospitals.
He said KNUN officials had held similar lengthy and strategic discussions with Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, who serves as the CoG Chairperson for Human Resources, Labour and Welfare, and Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, who chairs the CoG Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Committee.
Panyako said the direct involvement of the two governors was vital because Governor Wanga’s docket oversees human resource policies, CBAs and welfare frameworks for county employees across the 47 devolved units.
He said Governor Sang’s position on resource mobilization was critical in unlocking external financing, partnerships and budgetary allocations needed to meet the union’s demands.
The union signed the return-to-work formula in November 2017 to end a 150-day nationwide strike. Panyako said failure to implement core components of the agreement remained a major source of frustration among nurses and midwives. He said the consultations were aimed at bringing all relevant actors to the negotiating table and ensuring commitments made to health workers were honoured. He appealed to government agencies and county administrations to approach the matter with urgency and avoid further disruption of essential healthcare services, particularly for vulnerable patients in public hospitals.
“By uniting the specific capabilities of the CoG Health, Labor, and Resource organs, this expanded consultative framework will create an essential pathway to finalize a comprehensive, financially backed deal that will decisively end the nationwide strike,” he said.
Governor Nassir said devolved governments were committed to sustained engagements within the law to secure a fair and sustainable resolution to the industrial action.
“We are appealing to the health workers to end the crippling strike and give dialogue a chance,” he said.
The prolonged nurses’ and health workers’ strike has disrupted public health services in several counties, with reports of deserted hospital wards, patient discharges and congestion at major health facilities.
By Hussein Abdullahi
