A 43-day strike by nurses in Kenya concluded Wednesday following the signing of a return-to-work agreement between the nurses' union and the government. Seth Panyako, secretary-general of the nurses' union, announced that nurses would resume their duties within 24 hours.
The agreement sets a 45-day period for further negotiations to finalize the implementation of a collective bargaining agreement that was initially reached in 2017 after a six-month strike. The government had previously cited budgetary constraints as the reason for the unimplemented agreement.
The resolution comes one day after nurses demonstrated at the office of the Council of Governors, an organization representing Kenya's 47 county governments. Doctors had on Tuesday voiced concerns about an increased workload due to the nurses' walkout, threatening to join the strike if the issues were not resolved.
Dr. Davji Bhimji Atellah, secretary-general of the doctors' union, stated that doctors were becoming overburdened and could not adequately perform nursing duties. He emphasized the strain on the healthcare system, which already faced a shortage of doctors, and highlighted the necessity of teamwork in healthcare.
"When one part of healthcare is compromised, we all suffer. And when we stand together, we protect our patients together," Atellah posted on X, formerly Twitter. He added that the doctors' union had given the government seven days to address the nurses' concerns, warning of a potential strike notice if the issues remained unresolved.
The Senate also discussed the closure of hospital dispensaries in various counties on Tuesday. Senator Samson Cherargei of Nandi County attributed a "surge in deaths" to the situation and blamed the Council of Governors and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission for the "national crisis."