Busia first lady appeals nurses to end strike
Busia First Lady Judy Ojaamong toured Busia County Teaching and Referral Hospital to assess the impact of the Nurses strike that entered the third day on Thursday.
Mrs. Ojaamong, who is the hospital patron, sent special appeal to the Kenya National Union of Nurses to sympathize with innocent wananchi who cannot afford payments offered in private hospitals.
”As the union and the executive meet tomorrow (today Friday) it is my humble prayer that the parties will agree to end the strike to have normalcy return in health institutions across the county.
The demands by the medics are manageable, thus the need by the Union to hear the cries of a mother and have the nurses return to work as the matter was being concluded.
In the true motherly spirit, Judy moved Grace Aboo who suffering from accumulation of fluids in the abdominal cavity to Tanaka hospital and promised to foot the entire bills during her admission there.
She also pledged to clear Violet Maiga’s bill of Ksh. 4, 490 accrued at the institution and paid for their fair back home.
At the Maternity Ward Mrs. Ojaamong helped two women who were due for discharge in settling their bills totaling Ksh. 4310.
Lucy Akinyi Opondo from Ukwala was to settle a bill of Ksh. 2,500 while Grace Anyango from Port Victoria had bill of 1,810.
Earlier on the Busia County Governor Sospeter Ojaamong has urged the striking health workers to go back on duty since their concerns are being addressed.
Addressing the press in his office, the Governor urged the striking medical workers to return to work as he concludes talks with union officials in a bid to arrive at an amicable solution.
He said that initially the union had demanded promotion of 247 health workers but the county government has promoted 257, thus exceeding the union’s expectations by 10.
“This is not the end of promotions. We shall continue with the exercise,” he said.
However, the Governor said he was due to receive the union officials before they agree on when to call off the strike which he reiterated was uncalled for.
Ojaamong also refuted reports in a section of the media that the workers went on strike over delayed salaries and failure to remit statutory deductions.
He said his government pays employees their salaries by 23rd of every month adding that the problem of delayed remittance of statutory deductions was solved in October last year.
The Governor on Wednesday met managers of all county health institutions where he assured them that the issues raised by the Nurses union were manageable and the matter would be sorted out once and for all.