Uhuru orders nurses to resume work

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday ordered all the striking nurses to report back to work on Friday 15th February at 8am.

While addressing the nation from Statehouse, the president said that any caregiver who fails to report to work will be dismissed by the county government and the Ministry of Health respectively.

He further gave a stern warning to the union officials who may intimidate or harass the public servants who will want to resume duties.

“As the commander in chief in this country, I have ordered the National Police Service to take firm action against picketers who will pester the nurses from working,” said Mr Kenyatta.

President Uhuru condemned the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) officials who declared they will not obey court orders of suspending the industrial action for 60 days.

“No one is above the law. Obeying court orders in not optional and it is a requirement of all of us, no matter their place in society,” he said.

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This comes after the Council of Governors (CoG) moved to court to challenge the legitimacy of the boycott that has crippled health services in some counties.

The court suspended the strike for sixty days to allow negotiation meetings between the CoG, KNUN and the Ministry of Health.

However, the striking nurses disobeyed the orders with more counties receiving notice letters of impeding strike in the course of the month.

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Mr Kenyatta added that his government and county governments are working to improve the working conditions and remuneration of all health cadres.

This is in line with the accomplishment of the Big 4 Agenda by 2020 in which Universal Health Coverage is one of the four pillars.