Health services at Vihiga County Referral Hospital were today paralyzed as nurses joined the strike which kicked off on Sunday midnight led by Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) officials.
Vihiga County branch KNUN secretary general Caleb Maloba said the nurses vowed to down their tools after the county government refused to sign the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which would cater for the increase in their salaries.
KNUN Chairman Miheso accused their employer of engaging in a deceitful game meant to delay their nursing service allowance and other plights raised through the CBA. “They (County government) paid nursing allowances for two months and then held the payments. We want the CBA to be observed before we resume duty,” said Miheso.
The strike comes barely six months after a return to work formula between the union and the governors was agreed upon.
The secretary general was speaking today to the press at Vihiga referral hospital in Mbale town before they marched through the streets to protest about their predicament.
KNUN chairman Zadock Miheso, who accompanied the secretary general, said the national government in partnership with county government should end the strike by signing the deal and implementing it.
“If our demands are not met as indicated in the CBA, then Kenyans should be prepared to suffer again as witnessed in our last strike,” said Miheso.
He said both the County and national government are insensible to their plight because they have refused to upgrade their pay and adopt the CBA.
A survey by West Media revealed that most patients were forced to seek medical attention from other private facilities in the area.
The nurses almost brought the township to a standstill as they made their peaceful procession singing solidarity songs at the market places as bystanders cheered them on.
KNUN has almost 45,000 members countrywide who will go on strike and this will largely affect the already overwhelmed health sector.