Homa Bay nurses strike over October payment.
Nurses in Homa Bay County have abandoned duty over delayed payment of their salaries.
The move could negatively impact the county’s health system especially in regard to fighting Covid-19.
Through the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), the workers vowed not to return to work until their October salary was fully paid.
KNUN Executive Secretary Omondi Nyonje said the union had resolved that they would not be on duty starting yesterday.
“We have not received the October salary yet it is what we rely on for our bus fare to work. Failure to pay us could as well mean someone doesn’t expect us to report to work, ”said Nyonje.
He went on: “It is true that our families are also suffering because we cannot get money to meet their needs. It is simple; let the county pay us then we will resume duty.”
He said the delay has also affected remittance of statutory deductions like loans, contributions to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The unionist feared that many nurses who fall under the category of frontline health providers would not afford medical care. This is due to unremitted NHIF deductions. (As reported by the Standard)
Doctor’s Union KMPDU has issued a 21-day notice
This comes when the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union(KMPDU) has issued a 21-day notice. This was moments after it announced losing 10 senior doctors this week to Covid-19.
In a statement on Sunday, KMPDU officials said the pandemic has claimed 30 healthcare workers so far, the 10 doctors being the latest to succumb.
They accused the government of exposing them to injurious working conditions which exposed them to coronavirus vulnerability.
The forefront fighters of the pandemic said the strike notice will force the government to act.
“The National Advisory Council has resolved to issue a 21-day strike notice to the Government of Kenya,” said KMPDU in a letter signed by the Acting Secretary-General Chibanzi Mwachonda.
They said they will only call off the strike after the government meets their demands. The practitioners demanded standard PPEs to all the healthcare workers, and among others
