Striking health workers during Tuesday demos in Eldoret cityStriking nurses, clinical officers and laboratory technicians have threatened to extend their industrial action to private hospitals from next week if county governments fail to address their grievances.
The warning came as governors in the North Rift remained unmoved despite demonstrations by health workers in Eldoret on Monday, where they demanded the implementation of long-standing labour agreements and improved working conditions.
Medical services remained paralysed in most public hospitals across Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties as the strike entered another day.
Waving placards and blowing vuvuzelas, the workers marched through the streets of Eldoret before proceeding to the Uasin Gishu county assembly and the office of Governor Jonathan Bii, where they presented a memorandum outlining their demands.
Kenya National Union of Nurses official Kevin Kimutai and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers official Xavious Wamalwa led the demonstrations.
Wamalwa said the unions were engaging colleagues in the private sector to broaden the strike if county governments continued to ignore their demands.
"We are talking to our colleagues in the private sector so that we join hands to push for our demands and rights aimed at improving health services," he said.
Kimutai said nurses remain the backbone of healthcare delivery and warned that hospitals would face even greater disruption if the dispute persisted.
"We have been negotiating for a long time to avert the strike. We will not resume work until our demands are met," he said.
The striking workers are demanding the implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreements, promotions and the payment of salary arrears.
"It is our desire as health workers to serve patients without such disruptions, but we cannot do so if our rights are ignored," Kimutai said.
Wamalwa said county governments must sign CBAs with all the unions before healthcare workers can return to duty.
He said patients continued to suffer because counties had failed to resolve issues that had been under negotiation for a long time.
"Unless they deal with our issues, there will be no work at all in county hospitals," he said.
The union leaders accused county governments of failing to prioritise the health sector despite repeated engagements.
"Most of the governors are busy out there politicking and wasting public resources, yet we have critical issues in the health sector which must be addressed," Wamalwa said.
He said repeated negotiations had yielded little progress, leaving the unions with no option but to continue the strike and consider expanding it if their demands remained unmet.
Instant analysis
The unions' threat to extend the strike to private hospitals marks a significant escalation that could increase pressure on county governments to resolve the dispute. While the strike has so far disrupted public healthcare, expanding it would widen the impact on patients and raise the political cost of inaction. The unions argue they have exhausted negotiations over Collective Bargaining Agreements, promotions and salary arrears, shifting the focus to governors' willingness to address long-standing labour concerns. If no breakthrough is reached, the dispute risks evolving from a county-level industrial action into a broader healthcare crisis with national implications.
Striking health workers during Tuesday demos in Eldoret city
