Kenya: Agreement Announced to End National Nurses’ Strike
The Council of Governors of Kenya announced on Tuesday, September 8, a preliminary agreement with the nurses’ union to end a national strike that has disrupted public hospitals for more than five weeks. The compromise notably includes an increase in several allowances but still needs to be formalized before work can effectively resume.
SUMMARY
In Nairobi, the Chairman of the Council of Governors, Ahmed Abdullahi, stated at the National and County Government Co-ordinating Summit that common ground had been found with the representatives of the nurses. The announcement comes after several weeks of deadlock over remuneration, collective agreements, and working conditions in public institutions.
According to the details provided during the summit, the compromise includes an increase in the risk allowance and the allocation for uniforms. The parties still need to formally sign the agreement, a step described as a prerequisite for the nurses’ return to the services.
The crisis had escalated a few hours earlier. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), the country’s main doctors’ union, had given the authorities seven days to resolve the conflict, failing which it threatened to issue a notice of a national strike.
A hospital system under severe pressure
The nurses’ strike has exceeded forty days and has severely disrupted public health facilities. Doctors have denounced an excessive workload and reminded that nursing tasks cannot be sustainably absorbed by other categories of healthcare workers.
At the heart of the conflict is notably the implementation of commitments arising from previous collective agreements. Nurses’ representatives have been demanding improvements for several years regarding allowances, promotions, employment conditions, and the regularization of certain staff recruited under the framework of universal health coverage.
The Board of Governors had until then considered several demands financially difficult for the counties to support and called on the strikers to return to work during the negotiations. The nurses had refused, believing that a return without a firm agreement would not resolve the underlying dispute.
If the announced agreement is finalized, it could defuse a health crisis that has become national and prevent the opening of a second social front with doctors. The coming hours will be crucial to confirm the terms of the compromise and the timeline for resuming activities in public hospitals.
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