Kisumu health workers declare resumption of strike over delayed salaries

KISUMU, Kenya, Oct 5 – Health workers in Kisumu have downed their tools a week after they signed a return-to-work framework with the county government citing non-compliance by the Governor Anyang Nyong’o-led administration.

Under their respective unions, the doctors, nurses, clinical officers and general staff announced the resumption of the strike Friday evening.

Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) branch Secretary General, Maurice Operu, said as at 4pm on Friday, the County Tresury was yet to dispatch delayed salaries.

The health workers are yet to be paid salaries dating back to July. The unions have also accussed the County Tresury of failing to remit statutory deductions to relevant bodies.

The strike is the fourth in as many months with union officials accusing the county government of failing in its responsibility to ensure timely disbursement of workers salaries.

Recent salary delays have been attributed to an impasse on the adoption of the 2019/2020 finacial year budget which recently sailed through after the County Assembly under a new Speaker allowed Nyong’o’s memorandum revising estimates passed under ousted Speaker Onyango Oloo.

Oloo had declined to consider Nyong’o’s proposals that slashed monies allocated for the development of modern county assembly buildings.