Homa Bay nurses begin strike, accuse county of failing to honour CBA

Over 800 nurses in Homa Bay County under their union Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN)downed their tools on Monday accusing the devolved unit for failing to address their grievances.

The branch’s Executive Secretary Emardic Okeyo and branch chairperson Amos Ogaga have maintained that nurses will not report on duty if the government fasil to honor the CBA.

Speaking at the county referral hospital during the commencement of the strike, Okeyo pointed out failure by the county government to implement the promotion of some of their union members, failure to pay salary arrears of some nurses and failure to remit statutory deductions such as SHA, insurances, bank loans among others.

Other grievances that have triggered anticipated health workers strike include the failure by the county government to establish and operationalize the office of the director of Nursing Services, implementation of the September 2024 SRC circular which harmonized their housing allowances and an eight percent in the basic salaries of nurses.

They also demand that the county government should employ additional nurses to address the current shortage that has hit health facilities in the region.