Medical services in health facilities in Mombasa County have been halted after health workers downed their tools and took to the streets.
Through their representatives, the health workers this morning, September 6, said they are not reporting to work as the employer has failed to pay them for two months.
Besides being salaried, the employers have complained that their deductions haven’t been remitted for the past five months.
Led by Kenya Union of Nurses Mombasa Secretary General Peter Maroko and his Kenya Union of Clinical Workers counterpart Franklin Makanga, the workers mentioned that they have tried to get clear communication from the county government, but all their efforts bore no fruit.
These health workers have now said that until the county government hears their plea and takes action, they shall camp at the governor's office.
Speaking on Friday, while giving the strike notice, the health workers said their employer has failed to communicate when and how they shall be paid.
“We have been pushed this far because the employer is not providing information. We feel that there is a lot of negligence and irresponsibilities,” one of the health workers lamented.
The union remarked that some of the officers handling their complaints are incompetent because this is not the first time they are mishandling this sensitive matter.
“We feel that there is a lot of negligence, irresponsibility and some of these officers who are handling these issues may be incompetent,” one of the workers noted.
While sympathising with patients, the health workers said they were forced to take the drastic action of going on strike after they run out of options.
“The county government has forced us to cause unnecessary suffering to the patients we are supposed to take care of,” said Peter Maroko.
The union officials said enough is enough and will only resume work after a lasting solution has been found.
