Operations at one of Kenya’s largest mission hospitals could ground to a halt on Monday when 300 nurses go
on strike.
Kenya National Union of Nurses said their members in Kijabe Mission Hospital will strike because the management has been dishonest in the CBA negotiations.
KNUN deputy secretary general Maurice Opetu said the hospital has withheld crucial information required for the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“The hospital has refused to give us details on wages for diff erent cadres which we require to calculate how much our nurses should be paid,” he told the Star.
Opetu said the union obtained details on wage structure showing huge disparities in which nurses are hugely disadvantaged.
“We reported the dispute to the Ministry of Labour, who appointed an arbitrator, but we did not reach an agreement,” he said.
Opetu said a junior doctor with two years experience earns Sh288,195 at Kijabe Mission Hospital, while a nurse at Job Group K, with about six years experience, takes home Sh28,901 per month.
“We are telling them we are still open for dialogue and if they give us the details we need, our nurses will go back to work,” Opetu said.
Nearly all public hospitals are run by nurses since doctors and clinical offi cers have been on strike, demanding nearly 300 per cent pay rise.
The doctors also want universities to reserve 400 special scholarships every year for Masters degrees.
Although doctors employed by Kijabe are still working, those seconded from the government stopped working
in December.