Striking nurses in Kitui have defied the umbrella workers' union and rejected a return-to-work formula agreed on Friday with Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu.
The nurses had joined a week-long boycott by workers of the county government on Tuesday. Their leaders were called for a meeting with Ngilu on Thursday but walked out.
Other workers agreed to return to work.
Ngilu said she would consider hiring qualified medical staff on locum.
The secretary of the Kitui County Union of Kenya Civil Servants Benjamin Munyalo led officials of other unions in signing the return-to-work agreement with Ngilu at her boardroom on Thursday evening.
Workers said they would immediately suspend their industrial action.
The agreement was also signed by the secretary of the Kitui Kenya County Government Workers Union branch Daisy Muli and the union's Eastern region national executive committee member Virginia Kalwe.
The Kitui government will pay two months salary for July and August in 14 days from the date of the agreement. Failure to honour the agreement will result in resumed industrial action.
The accord said there would be no reprisal against strikers, including the defiant nurses.
As the workers resumed work on Friday, it was established that the county could have lost more than Sh70 million in uncollected revenue. Daily revenue is usually Sh1 million to Sh. 1.2 million.
