Nurses protesting demanding for a salary hike. Photo/kenyaforum.netBusia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong has exonerated governors from the nurses’ strike.
Ojaamong said it is the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) which should be blamed for the health workers’ strike that started on Monday.
Addressing the press in his office, the county chief said governors were willing to travel to Nairobi to sign the Collective Bargaining Agreement once the SRC which is still holding the document releases it.
“Government agencies are a bottleneck in the current stalemate. We can't sign the agreement when the SRC has not finalised part of its bargain to bring out exactly what we are going to sign,” he said.
“We have no problem with the nurses. Our only bone of contention is the SRC which we want to finish its work and liaise with the Ministry of Health.”
About 100 Nurses in public hospitals in Busia County joined the strike on Monday.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses disagreed with the National Government over the implementation of a deal that ended the last strike.
They joined 45,000 other members of the nurses’ union in withdrawing their services after governors and Ministry of Health failed to sign the CBA. The Union has vowed to stay put until the demands contained in the CBA are met.
The strike was suspended on December 14, 2016. The Union says nurses will only call off the strike when the CBA has been signed, deposited in court and implemented.
The nurses had been awarded a service allowance of between Sh15,000 and Sh20,000. It was also agreed that the salaries of all nurses in the county and national government hospitals be harmonised.