Dozens of nurses took to the streets of Nairobi wearing white coats and carrying placards as they protested what they described as the government’s failure to resolve long-standing labour concerns.
The demonstration comes as nurses continue a strike that has disrupted public healthcare services across Kenya.
Seth Panayko, Secretary-General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses, said the union was seeking clarity and action from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) over its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
“for many years we have had, since 2017 up to now, push and pull back between SRC, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and the Council of Governors. Today we are visiting SRC to tell us their story and to ask them to issue a letter of no objection on our CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement”
The nurses’ strike began in late July, raising growing concerns about its impact on patients and the wider healthcare system.
Collins Otieno Ajwang, president of Kenya’s National Nurses Association, warned that the prolonged industrial action was placing additional pressure on public health facilities.
“the nurses strike is today entering its 37th day. Public health facilities across the country are severely affected by this strike. Our concern as fellow health professionals is what this continuing delay is now costing patients and the healthcare system.”
The Secretary-General of the Clinical Officers Association, Joseph Chebii, also called for urgent action from all parties involved in the dispute.
“it is time now that we are seeing moralities rising among our mothers and other citizens of this country that can be avoided. If we continue delaying, we will have many more losses. So our call is for the unions, for the SRC, national government, county government and other stakeholders to kindly go to the table and have discuss and resolve this issue.”
The dispute centres on unresolved labour issues between the nurses’ union and the Council of Governors (CoG), with negotiations remaining deadlocked.
As the impasse continues, nurses have intensified street protests alongside the ongoing strike, while healthcare professionals warn that further delays could have serious consequences for patients and Kenya’s already strained public health system.
