Kisumu: 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.
According to Kenya News Agency, the current dispute centers 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 stated that the nurses’ 2023-2025 CBA expired without being recognized or implemented, despite other health cadres having their CBAs negotiated and implemented. 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 emphasized that 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 highlighted that 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 mentioned that nurses were also awaiting a new collective agreement covering the period 2025-2029, following an earlier agreement reached in 2024. Makori stated that the nurses would continue with the strike until their employer engages them, reaches a new agreement, and submits it to court for implementation.
On the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula, Otieno expressed concern 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. 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 officials insisted that the industrial action was lawful and urged nurses to remain firm despite what they termed intimidation of those participating in the strike. Otieno 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. He further appealed to President William Ruto to intervene and listen to the concerns raised by nurses, urging nurses in Kisumu County to remain united as they push for the resolution of their grievances.
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.
