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Kenya cannot continue running its public service on promises that are rarely honoured. The planned nurses' strike from July 29 is yet another warning that the government is failing to address long-standing labour disputes with the seriousness they deserve.
Nurses have cited several unresolved grievances, including the permanent employment of Universal Health Coverage staff, a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), delayed career progression and the failure to implement previous agreements.
They have every right to demand action. It is unacceptable for a government to negotiate in good faith, sign agreements and then conveniently forget its commitments.
The problem, however, extends beyond nurses. Doctors, clinical officers, teachers, lecturers, civil servants and other public sector workers have, at various times, raised concerns over delayed promotions, unpaid allowances, stalled career progression, inadequate staffing and unfulfilled CBAs.
These disputes are often allowed to fester until workers have no option but to down their tools.
This is neither good governance nor responsible labour relations.
Strikes disrupt essential services and hurt ordinary Kenyans, but the government must also accept responsibility for creating the conditions that make them inevitable.
The government must abandon the culture of promises and excuses and confront outstanding labour issues across the public service. Agreements must be honoured, negotiations must be genuine and workers must be treated with dignity.
A government that cannot keep its word to its workers cannot expect the public to trust its word.
Quote of the Day: "Every human soul is of infinite value, eternal, free; no human being, therefore, is so placed as not to have within his reach, in himself and others, objects adequate to infinite endeavour." —British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary (Balfour Declaration) Arthur Balfour was born on July 25, 1848
