Elgeyo Marakwet nurses called off their strike on Tuesday following talks with county officials last
evening.
The nurses downed their tools on Friday after the county failed to pay their allowances as agreed upon by their union and the government in January.
Benson Biwott,
Elgeyo Marakwet secretary of the Kenya National Union of Nurses, said they were assured
that the payments will be cleared soon.
The payments
were not factored into January salaries and
Biwott noted they have not been promoted in the last three years.
But he said: “We call upon all our members to go back to work. We still have unresolved issues but we have agreed to give dialogue a chance."
County chief health officer Titus Ayiebei said facilities including Iten County Referral Hospital were not fully operational during the strike that began on Friday.
Aiyebei urged the health workers to allow talks to end the frequent strikes that have led to deaths.
The nurses claimed on Friday that government officials were dodging them, but
ICT and Public Service executive Stephen Biwott denied this.
The executive said he called Knun officials for a meeting to resolve the standoff but that they did not show up.
“The county could not factor the allowance into the January salary because there was no code. We resorted to paying them through vouchers. This is ongoing...it is not true that we are dodging the nurses,” he added.
The nurses have also accused the county of arbitrary transfers, harsh treatment and failure to recruit more of them. They said this forced them to work longer hours and suffer stress.
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