Nurses downplay sacking threats; demonstrate in Nairobi

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Nurses demonstrate in Nairobi CBD./FILE

Nairobi, KENYA: Kenya Nurses Union on Monday led nurses’ demonstration across Nairobi downplaying the sacking threat by the council of governors to call off the strike.

In a media briefing during the demonstrations,Kenya Nurses Union chair Maurice Opetu downplayed sacking threats by the council of governors to call of the strike or else their members will be sacked.

“We started this strike in December last year ,when we were through with it,we agreed to enter into agreement in form of CBA ,and formulation of this CBA was to be signed by 2nd of March ,but the government refused to sign it ,we gave them ultimatum up to 5th of May but the didn’t take any initiative to sign it.” Opetu said.

The nurses demonstrations started at Uhuru Park heading to the ministry of health headquarters ,where they camped to air their grievances to the ministry before heading to the the council of governors headquarters to air their grievances too.

He said that the COG has no mandate of sacking the nurses insisting that public service commission and county boards are the ones mandated to hire nurses.

He also insisted that the union will not honour court order issued by the employment and Labour relations court to end the strike.

“The nurses strike will not be called off until the government honours and signs the negotitated CBA agreement .”Opetu said.

Among other grievances is the government’s failure to honour the CBA, where nurses were to be given 15,000 risk allowance and 5,000 allowance also Salaries and Renumeration Commission’s move to downgrade nurses grades.

The union officials said that they will not be cowed to call of the strike ,which has gone for approximately 100 days.

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