Director of Medical Services Dr Jackson Kioko in Eldoret town on September 29, 2017. [Photo: Joe Khisa]
The Ministry of Health now says talks are ongoing to see to it that the ongoing nurses' strike comes to an end.
The Director of Medical Services Dr Jackson Kioko, however, declined to comment on the progress of the strike that has been in place for over three months now."
Right now there are discussions going on in Nairobi about this matter and I don't want to preempt but once I have a full report I'll let the public know," Dr Kioko told the press after commission a state-of-the-art blood screening machine at the Eldoret Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, Friday.
Asked whether nurses should go back to work as their officials go on with the negotiations, Dr Kioko said, "they should be working. It's not a matter of them going back to work."
"There is no need for people to be on strike," he added.
Nurses across the country have been on strike demanding for the implementation of a contentious Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) they signed with the Council of Governors (CoG).
The CoG has since termed the nurses strike illegal and directed governors to replace the striking nurses even as Nurses Union officials insist the strike will only be called off once their demands are implemented.
Not all nurses are however on strike as some like in Nandi county recently agreed with the county government and resumed work. Uasin Gishu nurses never downed their tools.