NAIROBI, Kenya- Health services in public hospitals across Kenya remain severely disrupted as nurses continue their nationwide strike over pay, working conditions and the implementation of agreements reached with the government.
The industrial action, led by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), has affected services in counties across the country, leaving patients facing long waits, cancelled routine care and, in some facilities, being forced to seek treatment elsewhere.
The strike began on July 29 after nurses issued a seven-day notice over unresolved labour grievances.
Their demands include implementation of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), payment of outstanding salary arrears, career progression and improved terms of service.
Nurses also want workers employed under the Universal Health Coverage programme absorbed into permanent and pensionable employment.
Nurses demand better pay and working conditions
At the centre of the dispute is the failure to implement agreements that nurses say would improve their pay and working conditions.
Nurses at Kenyatta National Hospital, for example, have demanded implementation of the 2025–2029 CBA, including salary harmonisation and improved terms of service.
They argue that nurses in some facilities continue to earn less than their counterparts despite performing similar duties.
The union is also demanding implementation of the 2017 return-to-work formula, which it says remains largely unimplemented.
KNUN Secretary General Seth Panyako has maintained that nurses will not return to work until the government honours the outstanding agreements.
“Up to now, the return-to-work formula of 2017 has never been implemented by the current government,” Panyako said.
The union says other health workers involved in the 2017 labour disputes have had agreements honoured and arrears paid, and has questioned why nurses have been treated differently.
Court orders fail to end strike
The strike has continued despite orders from the Employment and Labour Relations Court directing nurses to resume duty.
In August, Justice Monica Mbaru ordered nurses across the 47 counties to return to work and restrained KNUN from undertaking industrial action linked to the strike notices. The court warned that nurses absent from work without lawful cause could face disciplinary action.
KNUN has nevertheless rejected calls to immediately call off the strike.
Panyako said the union was aware of the legal consequences but maintained that nurses were prepared to face the courts rather than abandon their demands.
“There is no going back to work,” he said.
Patients bear the brunt
The prolonged dispute has placed patients at the centre of the crisis.
Public hospitals have reported disruptions in routine services, while facilities that remain operational have experienced increased pressure as patients move from affected county hospitals.
Kenyatta National Hospital recently advised patients seeking non-emergency treatment to consider alternative facilities because the strike had contributed to increased patient numbers and longer waiting times.
The situation has been particularly difficult for mothers and babies, with a fourth week of the nurses’ strike leaving vulnerable patients at increased risk.
A dispute that keeps growing
The nurses’ grievances extend beyond salaries.
They have cited staff shortages, heavy workloads, delayed promotions, career progression and poor working environments as part of the reasons behind the industrial action.
The union argues that inadequate staffing is already placing enormous pressure on nurses and affecting the quality of care patients receive.
With the government and the union still divided over implementation of the agreements, there is no immediate end to the dispute.
