• Nurses in Kenya do not support the policy by council of governors of hiring them on contract, their two associations have said.
• Say contracts will 'kill' profession.
Image: FILE
Nurses do not support the Council of Governors policy of hiring them on contract, their two associations have said.
National Nurses Association of Kenya chairman Alfred Obengo and his Kenya Progressive Nurses Association counterpart Michael Nyongesa want the national government and the CoG to stop plans of hiring nurses on contract.
They said it will kill the nursing profession.
Obengo argued that the system may make nurses miss security benefits which the current nurses enjoy. “Hiring nurses on contract will bar them from accessing loans from financial institutions,” Obengo said.
They spoke on Friday in Homa Bay town during the launch of the National Nurses’ Campaign Week.
Chief Administrative Secretary for Public Service and Gender Rachel Shebesh and Homa Bay Deputy Governor Hamilton Orata presided over the launch.
Nyongesa said the contract will be tantamount to discrimination of the nursing fraternity. He called on the Public Service and CoG to treat nurses equal to other government workers.
“Let the government stop the plans to hire nurses on contract because we feel cheated with the terms,” Nyongesa added.
The officials argued that nurses played pivotal role in health care services in the country. “Hiring of nurses on contract is likely to interfere with the government implementation of universal health coverage since nurses’ welfare will not be accorded due consideration,” Obengo said.
Shebesh urged nurses to embrace dialogue instead of strikes whenever they have grievances.
“Nurses’ strikes are detrimental to the country. Let’s give dialogue priority to enable us understand each other,” Shebesh said.
Orata said they will engage nurses in implementation of universal health coverage. “Nurses play an important role in the health sector and we accord them the support they need to serve the public better,” Orata said.
Homa Bay is one of the counties which intends to employ health workers including nurses on contract. The county has advertised 140 positions for which it intends to hire the health workers.