NAIROBI, Kenya – Nurses and midwives have reiterated that they are ready to end their nationwide strike, but say they will only return to work after key agreements on their employment terms are concluded and implemented.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) said it remains open to negotiations with the government and the Council of Governors (CoG), but the industrial action that began on July 29, 2026, will continue until the outstanding grievances are addressed.
The strike has now entered its fifth week, disrupting services at public health facilities across the country and leaving patients facing delays and reduced access to treatment.
KNUNM Secretary General Seth Panyako said the union was committed to dialogue but would not accept assurances that were not followed by implementation.
Panyako spoke after consultations with Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, who chairs the CoG Health Committee, as the union intensified efforts to engage county governments directly.
“We have met Governor Nassir to deliberate and explore solutions to resolving the ongoing nationwide nurses’ strike,” Panyako said.
He said the dispute was a national labour matter concerning the welfare and employment conditions of nurses and midwives and was not intended to punish patients.
Nurses list conditions for ending strike
The union has identified several outstanding issues that it wants resolved before calling off the strike.
They include:
- Implementation of the 2017 return-to-work agreement
- Conclusion and implementation of the nurses’ Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
- Adoption and implementation of career progression guidelines
- Absorption of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers into permanent and pensionable employment
- Implementation of outstanding county-level agreements
- Resolution of other employment-related grievances
Panyako said the union was pursuing structured engagements at both county and national levels in an effort to resolve the dispute.
“We are committed to multi-level diplomacy and we aggressively continue to pursue structured engagements at both the county and national levels to address labour grievances and restore normalcy in our health facilities,” he said.
Talks make progress on career guidelines
Recent negotiations between the union and the CoG Health Committee have offered some hope of a possible settlement.
Panyako said discussions had made progress on the career progression guidelines and the employment status of UHC workers.
On career progression, the union and governors have tentatively agreed to establish a committee to review and develop a framework for implementing the guidelines.
“The career guideline, we tentatively and informally agreed that it shouldn’t be an issue. The union should forward names of people to sit on the committee to look into the revision of the career guidelines,” Panyako said.
The proposed committee is expected to provide a framework for addressing career progression concerns that have remained unresolved.
UHC workers seek permanent employment
The union has also welcomed efforts to address the employment status of health workers recruited under UHC programmes.
Panyako said a directive had been issued to address human-resource and payroll challenges affecting UHC staff.
However, the union wants affected workers to receive formal confirmation of their permanent and pensionable (PNP) status.
“The President, when he promises like that, in Kenya, we expect the words of the President to be honoured and implemented,” Panyako said.
The union has also raised concerns over outstanding gratuity payments for some UHC workers.
CBA remains biggest obstacle
Despite progress on some issues, Panyako said the nurses’ CBA remains the biggest obstacle to ending the strike.
“The other issue which is now not settled is the CBA. We plan on meeting over the week and we hope that they will be serious and we hope we will get a letter of no objection so that our members can go back to work,” he said.
Another union official, Maurice Odhiambo, said nurses would not return to work until the CBA, UHC employment letters and career progression guidelines were addressed.
“The nurses will not go back to work until we have the CBA, until we have the UHC staff getting their letters of PNP and paid gratuity, until our career progression guidelines are implemented,” Odhiambo said.
Mombasa recruitment sparks controversy
The dispute has also been complicated by efforts by some counties to recruit nurses while the national strike continues.
Odhiambo criticised governors who have moved to recruit additional nurses, questioning why funds were available for new recruitment while existing employment grievances remained unresolved.
His remarks followed Governor Nassir’s directive for the immediate recruitment of 573 nurses on contractual terms in Mombasa County.
Nassir has maintained that Mombasa does not have a shortage of nurses and said more than 1,000 applicants would be expected if vacancies were advertised.
The governor has nevertheless urged health workers to return to negotiations and allow dialogue to resolve the dispute.
“We are appealing to the health workers to end the crippling strike and give dialogue a chance,” Nassir said.
Union says only national leadership can call off strike
KNUNM has also warned nurses against relying on announcements from individual branches concerning the status of the national strike.
The union maintains that only its national leadership has the authority to formally call off the industrial action.
Odhiambo said branch officials could not unilaterally terminate the nationwide strike and urged nurses to remain firm in counties where they had been told that the strike had ended.
“We reassure our nurses and the public that the strike is on until the governors and SRC act,” he said.
SRC under pressure to resolve dispute
The union has previously given the SRC a seven-day ultimatum to issue the required no-objection letters and facilitate implementation of pending agreements.
The pressure comes as the strike continues to affect services in public hospitals.
KNUNM has also threatened to extend the industrial action to national referral hospitals if the outstanding issues are not resolved.
Such an expansion would potentially deepen disruptions to healthcare services and increase pressure on the government to reach an agreement with the union.
