Nurses at KU Teaching and Referral Hospital issue 21-day strike notice

Nurses at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) will go on strike from 12:01am on 9 November unless management addresses their grievances, the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives has said.

In a notice to the hospital's chief executive, the union's secretary general, Seth Panyako, listed demands including permanent and pensionable terms for eligible nurses on temporary contracts, payment of salary arrears and gratuity, and the signing of a collective bargaining agreement.

The nurses also want better rates for temporary staff, recognition of higher qualifications, standard working hours, pay for working on public holidays and fair grading within the same cadres.

The union said essential services would continue during a strike, but no new patients would be admitted. It said earlier attempts to resolve the issues with management had failed. A similar strike threat at the hospital in September was called off before nurses walked out.

No response from the hospital's management had been reported at the time of writing.