• The Council of Governors maintained that it won't be appending a signature to the formula arrived at more than two weeks ago.
• The strike enters 44th day on Tuesday.
Image: EZEKIEL AMINGA
Nurses have told governors to swallow their pride and sign their return-to-work formula.
This comes after the Council of Governors maintained that it won't be appending a signature to the formula arrived at more than two weeks ago.
In what now appears to be a show of might, the nurses have vowed not to report to work until the document is fully signed.
"We want to ask governors for the last time that they should swallow their pride and come and sign the return-to-work agreement. Without that, we are not going to bow to any pressure, any intimidation, or any sacking,” the nurses said.
With their strike entering 44th day on Tuesday, the nurses have hit back at the CoG over claims that they get 16 allowances.
The union has further accused the council chairman Wycliffe Oparanya of peddling lies with regard to the ongoing strike, saying nurses are entitled to only four allowances.
The nurses arrived at a conclusion on all the grievances they had raised, but the document has been gathering dust at the labour offices. The CoG has refused to append their signature on the grounds that it was not consulted.
"As a union, we are ready to meet with the Council of Governors anytime, anywhere. Even if it is on the moon, we are ready to travel; even if it is on the sun, we are ready to go at night and have the meeting there if that is what the Council of Governors wants,” KNUN secretary general Seth Panyako said.
“But there will be no going back without our issues being addressed, without commitment by the two levels of government to compensate families who have lost nurses to Covid-19, and commitment to refund money spent by nurses during their treatment when they were sick.”
The governors last week said nurses are some of the best paid civil servants in the counties and do not deserve any more raise, adding that that is untenable and will distort counties' payrolls.
“It is wrong for the governor to say we are getting 16 allowances. I am a senior nurse and I am getting three allowances, three of which are allowances that are common to almost every public servant. The only special allowance I am getting is the nursing service allowance,” KNUN national chairman Maurice Opetu said.
They have accused the CoG of frustrating efforts made by the Health CS, the Labour CS and the multi-agency committee formed to help address the stalemate.
Panyako also warned Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua against threatening striking nurses with show-cause letters, adding he will stop at nothing to ensure no nurse is sacked.
“We want to tell the governors that this is not going to stop us from demanding risk allowance, which we are supposed to get and is our right. Where did the Kakamega governor come up with the 16 allowances he is talking about unless he is mistaking us for governors,” he said.
The nurses have been on strike alongside clinical officers and lab technologists over demand for standard and adequate personal protective equipment, risk allowance for the frontline health workers, delayed salaries and employment of more staff, among other grievances.
“It is very clear that the people who are making Kenyans suffer, die and not get their health services are not any other person but the governors that they elected. From today, any single life lost should be on the heads of the governors,” Opetu said.
Clinical officers on Sunday took a similar stand, saying they won’t go back to work until their demands are fully met.