Nurses under their umbrella Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) has opposed proposals to hire them on a contract basis.
Speaking while attending the nurses week' forum in Homa Bay, nurses union's officials announced that they will fight any attempts to change their current permanent work status.
Speaking on Friday, the nurses faulted the Council of Governors (CoG) which is pushing to implement the new employment terms, urging both levels of government to dismiss any such plans.
KNUN Chairman Alfred Obengo noted that changing the terms to contract will kill the nursing profession and deny them some of the privileges they are currently enjoying.
“We do not want a situation where nurses are unable to access loans from financial institutions because they are employed by the government on contract,” he was quoted by the Standard.
His remarks were echoed by his Kenya Progressive Nurses Association counterpart Michael Nyongesa who argued that it will amount to discrimination.
He wondered why nurses would be subjected to short term work timelines as other civil servants continue enjoying permanent jobs.
“We feel cheated. The government should rescind plans to hire nurses on contract,” said Nyongesa.
The forum was officiated by area Deputy Governor Hamilton Orata and Public Service Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rachel Shebesh.
Shebesh assured the nurses of fair treatment, further urging them to embrace dialogue instead of strikes.
"We will ensure all government employees are treated equally to enhance service delivery,” she said.