Dozens of nurses marched through Nairobi on Thursday to protest stalled negotiations over their working conditions and the implementation of a collective bargaining agreement, as a nationwide strike entered its sixth week.
The nurses, led by Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives Secretary General Seth Panyako, marched to the offices of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, demanding action to resolve the dispute with county governments.
The industrial action began July 29 and has disrupted services in public health facilities across Kenya. Nurses are seeking implementation of a 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, as well as progress on career progression guidelines and other outstanding employment issues.
At the centre of the dispute is a request for the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to issue a letter of no objection, which the union says would allow the 2017 agreement to proceed toward registration at the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Negotiations between the nurses’ union and the Council of Governors have remained deadlocked. The union maintains that the agreement should be implemented, while county authorities have raised concerns about its financial implications.
Wearing white and carrying placards, the demonstrators called for their demands to be addressed. The protest was part of the union’s efforts to increase pressure on government institutions while the strike continues.
The prolonged strike has increasingly affected access to public healthcare. Health professional associations have warned that reduced staffing has disrupted maternity services, inpatient care and specialised treatment, including dialysis.
Health officials and professional associations have also raised concerns about reported maternal, neonatal and perinatal deaths during the strike. The figures are based on health monitoring data and may not capture cases involving women who delivered outside formal health facilities.
The disruption is also affecting medical and nursing students who depend on public hospitals for clinical training. Health professionals say the continued reduction in services has created difficulties for students completing mandatory clinical rotations.
Some public hospitals have turned to locum nurses to maintain essential services. Mbagathi Hospital in Nairobi, for example, has been operating below full capacity while relying on temporary nursing staff following the withdrawal of striking nurses.
The National Nurses Association of Kenya has said nurses make up a significant share of the country’s healthcare workforce and play a central role in service delivery across all 47 counties.
The continuing dispute places pressure on both sides to reach an agreement that addresses nurses’ employment concerns while maintaining access to essential healthcare services. With the strike extending into its sixth week, health professionals are calling for the national government, county governments, the remuneration commission and the unions to return to negotiations and resolve the impasse.
The outcome of the dispute could have wider implications for Kenya’s public healthcare system, particularly its ability to maintain adequate staffing, maternal and emergency services and specialised care while addressing the employment conditions of health workers.
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