Healthcare workers at the Kenyatta National Hospital have threatened to go on strike from next Monday, accusing the facility of failing to implement a proposed salary review.
Kenya National Union of Nurses, Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Education institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) issued a joint statement on Monday.
They said the hospital’s management has failed to implement the proposal despite several attempts to have the matter resolved.”In view of the above, we now demand that the hospital implement salary for all employees working in your facility as approved by the state advisory committee through a letter dated September 13, 2012 within seven days failure to which all employees represented by the signed unions will commence a strike on September 28 2020,” a letter addressed to the KNH CEO and the Labour CS reads in part.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe and his Finance counterpart Ukur Yatani are copied.
A source from KNH who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity said the problem lies with the SRC and not the hospital.
He said that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission re-categorised KNH status to status of PC 7A which is supposed to come with an increment in salaries but that didn’t happen. “The unionisable workers at KNH have said if the recategorisation is not effected – meaning more pay comes into their bank accounts – they will go on strike in the next seven days,” he said.
PC 7A is a categorisation for parastatals.
“For KNH, our position is that it is SRC that has the mandate to unlock the impasse.”