At least eight people have died in Kenya following a strike by nurses in the country’s public hospitals over delays in the implementation of an agreement that gives them higher salaries and better working conditions.
In Mombasa, senior health officials said seven people died awaiting treatment at a government hospital between Monday and Tuesday, while the eighth patient died on the first day of the strike in Samburu, in the east of the country.
Nurses form a crucial part of Kenya’s healthcare system, especially in far flung areas where doctors are not enough.
It is day three of the public hospital nurses strike in Kenya. The nurses deserted the hospital corridors for the streets protesting delays in the implementation of last year’s agreement that was to give them better pay and working conditions.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was to be signed by officials from the Kenyan National Union of Nurses, their employers and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, a government body charged with harmonizing salaries in the public sector.
The commission says the deal reached between the employer and the nurses is erroneous.
Maurice Opetu acting general secretary of the Nurses Union in Kenya says:
“The government is refusing to sign our CBA so that it can be registered in court ahead of the implementation in July, so we are saying the nurses will stay put on strike until that CBA is signed and registered.”
The country’s labour minister held mediation talks between the nurses’ union and the government on Wednesday but failed to break the deadlock.
The strike comes just months after doctors in the country’s public hospitals held a 100-day strike over salaries.
It also comes ahead elections slated for August this year, a challenge for President Uhuru Kenyatta who is seeking a second and final term in a tight race against a united opposition.
– By Sarah Kimani
