Nurses sacked in Kisii during the height of a major countrywide industrial strike have been assured work after three years in the cold.
County Governor Simba Arati Wednesday ordered the public service board to consider reinstating the 70 health staff consisting of nurses and clinicians sacked after they refused to back down from holding a strike.
The health staff were protesting poor conditions and terms at the workplace.
On Wednesday, Arati faulted the former county regime for sacking them.
"We cannot afford to allow such skills to go to waste yet they were relieved of work on flimsy reasons," Arati said.
He was speaking outside his office during a meeting with ECDE teachers.
His administration, he said, has plans to absorb the ECDE instructors on permanent and pensionable terms.
The Governor said already he has built 125 ECDE classes across the devolved unit adding that those castigating him for not doing enough are misinformed.
ECDE, Arati stated, was an integral part of the physical development of young people despite the low pay for staff.
As a governor, he added he wants to ensure the teachers are properly remunerated and their welfare catered for as part of the efforts to improve service delivery in basic education.
"Now that the public service board is in place, all pending matters touching you will be addressed including the scheme of service," he said
The teachers would now be confirmed after serving on contracts for over ten years.
The County has over 70,000 learners in its ECDE classes against the 900 teachers who had been serving on contract.
The delays in having them engaged on permanent and pensionable terms were due to the absence of a functional public service board.
At least 526 teachers below the age of 45 were confirmed on a permanent basis.
Three teachers are due for retirement.
The rest would have their contracts extended, the County boss stated.
"Even then the remuneration shall be improved with time," Arati stated
County Assembly Labour Committee Chair, also Nyacheki MCA, Naftal Onkoba, said ECDE plays a critical role in the development of the children and thus the need to be supported.
New County Public Service Chair Enock Obebo said his first t assignment immediately after he landed in office was to look into ECDE teachers.
"We still had to get everything right even as we vowed to fastrack confirming them," said Obebo.
He said that still more teachers are needed to shore up the shortage in schools in the County.
The ECDE teacher-pupil ratio, he observed, was still low adding that more be recruited with time.
