Nandi county has withheld two months’ salaries of nurses and other health workers who took part in a strike between April and last month. The nurses’ union has issued a 14-day strike notice in response.
“The nurses were not on duty and so we will not pay them,” Health executive Mathew Rotich said.
However, John Bii, national chairman of the Kenya National Union of Nurses, says the county must obey a court order to pay the salaries or they will strike again.
“We have issued them a fresh strike notice because they are reneging on an order issued by the Industrial Court before we called off the April strike,” he said.
Speaking to the press in Eldoret yesterday, he said the county has been victimising some of the nurses who took part in the strike, despite the High Court warning against this.
“We will cause a major paralysis of health services in Nandi if the county government does not respect court orders and stop exposing our members to victimisation,” Bii said.
The county has also terminated the services of 44 nurses, whom it wants transferred to the national government.
Among those sent home were the union’s county top officials, including secretary Amos Ngetich and chairman Paul Sang.
Bii said the move is illegal and unacceptable.
“We will not allow the county to handle health workers’ issues carelessly. They have to withdraw what they are doing immediately,” Bii said. He said they will suspend talks with the county and head back to the court.
The health workers had in April staged a strike over delayed promotions and payment of salary arrears, but the county said it had no money to meet the demands.
The Industrial Court ordered the union and the county to negotiate.