•The health workers issued a strike notice last Monday
•They say the county government has remained silent over their grievances
Image: Aura Ruth
Operations in public health facilities in Mombasa will come to a stand still from Monday next week if health workers in the county make real their threats to go on strike.
They have vowed to go on with their strike from Monday, March 7 due to protest delayed two-month salaries and non-remittance deductions.
The doctors, nurses and laboratory officers issued a strike notice saying that the county has failed to pay their January and February salaries.
Kenya Medical Pharmacists, Dentists Union Mombasa branch chairperson Hassan Nkuche said that the county government has not paid them their dues despite receiving the salary allocation fund for the month of January.
“Our salary deductions have not been paid for the last five months, the county last paid us in October 2021. This is a big challenge that we are facing," Nkuche said.
"From Monday, we will not go back to work until the two months' salary, five months salary deductions and insurance are paid,” he added.
The KMPDU chair said that they took the salary delay case to court in November last year and they are still waiting for the case to be mentioned on March 10.
“We tried so hard and ensured that we take the matter to court and our documents are already there,” he said.
The health workers said they will abscond duty fro Monday next week and look for alternative means on survival if their concerns will not have been addressed by then.
“We are demanding for answers on where the money that is supposed to pay our salaries has been taken. Mombasa County is given almost Sh5 million shillings and if you add the January and February disbursements, it comes to Sh1 billion, which is enough to pay county workers,” Nkuche said.
He said that health workers in Taita Taveta have also not been paid two months' salary and their NHIF contributions have not been remitted.
He said they will also start their strike on Monday.
“All counties across the coastal region have paid their workers January and February salaries apart from the two counties. We are desperate," Nguche said.
Pharmaceutical union chairperson Juma Abdullah said that they are in solidarity with doctors and from Monday there will also down their tools and paralyse operations in pharmacies.
“We are not backing off and we want to inform the public that we are as a team and therefore no health worker will be at work from Monday,” he said.
His remarks were echoed by the National union of nurses branch secretary Emily Musoyi who said that they will also join the strike.
“Everybody will be at home because we don’t have transport and food. Mombasa county workers have been reduced to beggars, this is too much,” she said.
The workers said that they are not fighting the government but instead they are fighting for their rights.