The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) issued a nine-day nationwide strike notice on Friday, 10 January, in a move likely to cripple health services across the country.
During a live press conference, the union criticised the government for failing to offer permanent positions to nurses in line with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). KNUN lamented that nurses currently employed on contract had not been transitioned to permanent roles as agreed.
“If the nurses who are currently on contract are not given permanent postings in line with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, nurses will proceed on strike on 19 January,” stated Joseph Ngwasi, KNUN chairperson.
Additionally, the union warned against registering its members under the Social Health Authority (SHA) through the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU), claiming that the move was designed to undermine their union.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) has threatened to proceed with a nationwide strike on Sunday, 19 January, should the government continue with plans to register nurses under the Social Health Authority (SHA). The union argued that the move employs underhand tactics aimed at undermining nurses.
“Currently, anaesthetists have been prohibited from obtaining pre-authorisation in hospitals by SHA because we are against SHA registration. We cannot have a Nursing Council in Kenya and a regulatory body, then be ordered to join the KMPDU body,” KNUN Chairperson Joseph Ngwasi stated.
The union further argued that SHA’s restrictions impede their ability to perform their duties effectively and cause delays in patient care, as approvals from superiors are now required.
“We are saying enough is enough. We are a profession. We are independent. We are capable of functioning and regulating ourselves through the Nursing Council of Kenya,” asserted KNUN Secretary General Seth Panyako.
The latest strike notice comes after the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) issued a 14-day strike notice to also commence on January 19 if the demands agreed upon in their CBA of September 2024 are not met.
The clinical officers, just like their nursing officers, decried discrimination by SHA against clinical officers as another motivation behind their strike. The notice was issued by KUCO chairperson Peterson Wachira.
"If we do not have an end to the impunity in the Social Health Authority and we do not have full implementation of the return-to-work agreement of 2024, all the clinical officers in the 47 counties under the Ministry of Health shall proceed on strike as from midnight of January 19, 2025," Wachira stated.
The strike notices issued by the two healthcare unions are set to put the Ministry of Health in a catch-22 situation as a fresh crisis looms. In 2024 the ministry faced teething challenges ranging from the transition to Taifa Care from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), medical workers strikes and financial challenges.
