Nurses vow to continue strike, reject court return-to-work orders

During a presser on Saturday, KNUN Secretary General Seth Panyako said nurses would not return to work until the government honours the agreements reached with the union.

“Up to now, the return-to-work formula of 2017 has never been implemented by the current government,” Panyako said.

He said nurses were concerned that agreements reached with other groups following the 2017 labour disputes had been honoured, with some workers receiving their outstanding arrears.

“Our colleagues that had an argument in 2017 have had those arguments honoured and arrears have been paid. We don't understand why the government feels like nurses are not important and they should not have an argument,” he said.

Panyako also addressed court orders directing striking health workers to resume duty, saying the union was aware of the legal implications of continuing with the industrial action.

He accused the courts, the Council of Governors (CoG) and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) of frustrating the nurses' push for the implementation of their agreements.

“We are saying as a union, the court has stood in our way from 2016 up to now. The CoG and SRC liaise with the courts. You can see even our courts giving final orders,” Panyako said.

He maintained that KNUN was prepared to appear before the courts to explain its position.

“We are therefore, as law-abiding citizens, ready to appear in court and ready to tell the court that we want to take the punishment that might be meted out to us if that is what will mean nurses of this country can be respected,” he said.

“Otherwise, there is no going back to work,” he said.

The nurses' strike has continued to disrupt services in public health facilities as the union pushes the government to address its grievances and implement agreements previously reached with health workers.

On Friday, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) advised patients seeking treatment for non-emergency cases to consider seeking services at other health facilities as the nurses’ strike continues to affect operations.