Pumwani nurses insist strike is on
Are the nurses at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital on a work boycott or not?
While the nurses say they are, county government officials who run the hospital say there is no strike and the facility is offering services as expected.
The county government says in a newspaper advert, the go-slow has been called off and it will take action against workers who abscond from work at the referral hospital.
But the 186 health workers who claimed the contents of the advert applied to a previous boycott have vowed not to resume work unless the issues they have raised are addressed, chief among them insecurity.
Representatives from the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), led by Nairobi Branch chairperson Lucy Kamau distanced themselves from the advert that called off the go-slow.
SIT-IN
“Why is the county quick to dismiss our grievances? The timing of this advert is not a true reflection of events at Pumwani. We asked for the advert in March as part of an agreement to end a past strike and not the current impasse. Our nurses will not be working. A sit-in can only be called off by the nurses’ union not county officials.” Ms Kamau said.
However, the director of communications at the Nairobi governor’s office Walter Mong’are said the advert applied to both the past and the present go-slow.
He said: “If our partners have called you to refute any part of the statement, I can confirm that no union official has called anyone of us to dispute any part of the statement that is now public.
LOW TURNOUT
He added: “There is no current sit-in in Pumwani. However there is a low turnout of mothers visiting. All workers should be working. Otherwise, action will be taken against those who do not return to work as stated.”
On Sunday the county put up a full page advertisement, signed by an unnamed acting county executive committee member – health services — announcing the resumption of services at the hospital after a go-slow by staff was called off. However, it did not clarify which sit-in was being cancelled.
On Saturday, KNUN issued a seven-day ultimatum to both national and county governments to take action to rebuild public trust and tackle insecurity.
Union general-secretary Seth Panyako asked the government to construct a police station within the hospital similar to one at Kenyatta National Hospital.