The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), on Wednesday, revealed that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) reduced stipends for intern nurses by Ksh69,000.
According to Maaureen Nzioka, the National Treasurer for the Nurses Union, the interns were to be compensated Ksh104,000 a figure that the government slashed to Ksh35,000.
Speaking in an interview on Wednesday, Nzioka stated that the government went ahead to defy court orders that were issued to maintain the amount at Ksh104,000.
The nurses' union has further reiterated that the slashing of the salaries is part of the reason why the Union is deliberating on striking.
“We have nurses who were on internship, the ministry of health wrote to the SRC for advise on the pay and the SRC gave a stipend of Ksh35,000 yet they were supposed to be paid Ksh104,000,” stated Nzioka.
Nzioka further explained that the government had also made an abrupt turnaround in the hiring of nurses on permanent and pensionable terms.
“We saw in the Senate, that the Ministry of Health had said they are going to transition the nurses who are in the Universal Health Care programme to permanent and pensionable terms but CS Nakhumicha stated that the Public Service had advised her not to,” stated Nzioka.
She faulted the government for hiring the nurses on contractual terms, a factor that she states contributed to demotivating the nurses.
Nzioka further attributes the hiring terms of nurses to the understaffing in hospitals.
The nurses’ union has also stated that the government has continuously delayed in implementing a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which would improve their terms of employment.
Further, Nzioka revealed that the nurses were slated to hold a meeting within the week that would deliberate on issuing a strike notice for the medics.
If agreed upon, the nurses will join medics who have been on strike for 55 days and are yet to sign a return to work formula with the government.
