Moi Referral workers issue strike threat

Employees of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret have threatened to go on strike this week if the government does not pay them their allowances. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, the Kenya National Union of Nurses and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Education  Institutions and Allied Workers is pushing on with plans for the strike after issuing a seven-day notice last week. The strike notice was signed by Mogeni Mogaka (KMPDU), Cheserek Sammy  (KNUN) and Paul Athing (Kudheiha). "We are still waiting for a response from the government failing which we will down our tools," said Mogaka. However, the hospital's management held a crisis meeting at the weekend to avert the strike by the more than 3,000 staff at the facility. The employees said they are unhappy with the underfunding of the hospital and the failure by the government to pay them pending allowances. 

The hospital's CEO, Dr John Kibosia, said he had met Treasury officials, the employees and their unions' representatives to find ways of addressing their grievances. "We are dealing with the complaints which the workers have raised and we hope to find an amicable solution," said Kibosia. The union representatives issued a statement on the challenges of underfunding at the hospitals and the strike notice. "The underfunding of the hospital and other challenges related to staff welfare need to be addressed so that we work well to deliver services to the public", said the statement by the medics at the facility. The hospital is facing a budget deficit of Sh4 billion for its operations this year. Kibosia had confirmed that the government had only allocated Sh2.2 billion for the hospital in the current financial year yet more than Sh5 billion is required by the second largest hospital in the country.