Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong has said dialogue is needed to solve the doctors’ strike, with more money required, while declaring that the nurses’ strike is illegal given that the county governments have met most of their demands.
Addressing the press in his office, the Governor said the Doctors entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Government in 2013 before the health sector was fully devolved.
“The agreement has been lying idle without implementation after the Court ordered that it be implemented. I know the contents of the agreement are quite expensive to implement. The medics had asked for 300 percent salary increment. My government needs at least Kshs 2 billion to meet their demands which is almost half of the total budget,” he said.
Given the huge amount involved, Ojaamong said the dialogue is needed to sort out the issue. “The national government will be forced to introduce taxes on some luxury commodities to raise the amount needed to pay the striking workers.”
The governor admitted that the national government is trying to find an amicable solution to the problem. “The money disbursed to counties has already been budgeted for, thus the need by the national government to find alternative means of raising the required amount,” he said.
He said although the doctors are justified in their industrial action, the move is so drastic, adding that they would have given dialogue a chance before downing their tools.
However, the governor said the nurses are on strike illegally. “The Kenya National Union of Nurses has recognition with the Council of Governors and we have met most of their demands,” he said.
Should the strike persist, the governor said, they will seek the services of Christian-based health institutions to offer health services to the suffering patients across the county.
“We shall avail personnel, drugs and other services. We need to rescue our people from the suffering they have been subjected to by the striking health workers,” he said.
Ojaamong claimed he had not received any reports of casualties since the strike started on Monday.
