• Nurses have been on strike since December 7.
• They demand, among other things, quality and standard personal protective equipment, comprehensive medical insurance cover and risk allowance for all frontline colleagues.
Nurses who were on strike have been ordered by the union to resume work immediately and not later that 5pm on Thursday.
The nurses' union has ordered members to resume work not later than 5pm on Thursday.
The directive follows a court ruling on Monday that ordered them to end their strike pending the outcome of a case filed before it. The order was issued by Justice Maureen Onyango.
The health workers have been on strike since December 7, demanding, among other things, quality and standard personal protective equipment, comprehensive medical insurance cover and risk allowance for all frontline colleagues.
As of Wednesday, only 10 counties were still on strike, after the majority signed return-to-work agreements at the local level. The counties where the strike was on were Nakuru, Migori, Busia, Vihiga, Trans Nzoia, Kilifi, Lamu, Kisii, Kisumu and Taita Taveta.
“In specific, our members in Taita Taveta, Kisumu, Kisii and Busia are hereby notified that all purported dismissal and evictions were stayed by the court. All nurses should, therefore, report on duty without failure,” Kenya National Union of Nurses secretary-general Seth Panyako said while calling off the strike.
Justice Onyango had advised that where there are no interim orders, all employees who have gone back be paid and salaries be reinstated from the date of reporting.
Similarly, she suspended all disciplinary matters, including evictions, adding that all striking workers resume duty in order to get salaries. A conciliation report is to be filed within 30 days.
“Contrary to the law, I've been informed that some of those nurses have lost up to Sh1.5 million in those evictions. I can assure those nurses that this union shall pursue civil proceedings against the county government of Taita Taveta so that not even one shilling that was lost will not be recovered,” Panyako said.
“We will ensure everything lost, including money, is recovered; all the properties destroyed are paid for and compensated for by the county government, and officers involved in those illegal activities are brought to book. We will ensure the protection of our members as provided for in the law.”
Panyako reiterated that they will continue pushing for the issues that had been raised in the strike notice through the court after the negotiation committee was ordered to file a report in court within 30 days.
“We are going to send all the court orders to all our members across the country, so they can give them to OCS of their various areas to facilitate the resumption of duty where need be,” he said.
Clinical officers also called off their strike on Monday following similar court orders.
Announcing the end of the strike, Kenya Union of Clinical Officers' chairman Peterson Wachira ordered all members to resume work immediately, saying they would obey court order as law-abiding citizens.
He, however, said they would only offer services when supplied with appropriate protective gear, adding that they remain vigilant and focused on ensuring the welfare, rights and safety of their members are upheld at all times.
“It is sad to note that even as clinical officers and other health workers resume duties, the employers have not addressed our grievances about the unsafe working environment, a fact that puts our members in harm’s way even as they resume duty,” Wachira said.