Hours after medical practitioner from 11 counties down their tools, Nurses in Nyandarua resumed work on Monday evening after an agreement with the county government on the implementation of the return to work agreement signed on November 2, 2017.
Over 400 nurses had on Monday afternoon downed their tools accusing the county administration of dishonesty and lack of goodwill after a delay in holding talks aimed at averting the strike.
The union officials had earlier met and decided to call a strike. They asked their members to leave their workstations and went ahead to lock various departments at the hospitals.
However, the strike was suspended a few hours later after union officials met with the county government officials and negotiated a solution to the stalemate.
In a joint statement signed by Nyandarua county secretary, Hiram Kahiro and Kenya National Union of Nurses Nyandarua branch secretary John Gachara, the two parties agreed on suspending the strike.
“The county government has directed the implementation of the Return to Work Agreement signed by the County Government, National Government and the Kenya National Union of Nurses on November 2, 2017, alongside salaries for March 2019,” the statement read in part.
The bone of contention was the uniform allowance and nursing service allowance. Gachara said this money will be paid in three instalments, from March 29, 2019.
Currently, nurses in Nyandarua are paid Ksh 10,000 for uniform allowance and Ksh 20,000 for nursing service allowance.
In the new arrangement, they will receive an extra Ksh 5,000 in for 2018/2019 financial year as uniform allowance.In the 2019/2020 financial year, the allowance will increase to Ksh 20,000 and Ksh 25,000 by the year 2020-2021.
For the nursing service allowance, the amount will increase by Ksh 3000 for 2018/2019 financial year, and two equal instalments of Ksh 3,500 to make it Ksh 30,000 by the year 2020-2021.
“This agreement is legally binding and in case it fails to be implemented as agreed, we shall resume the strike without notice,” Gachara said.