KNH Nurses Declare Strike Over Pay Delays, Unpaid Dues

A looming healthcare crisis is unfolding at Kenyatta National Hospital after nurses announced they will down their tools beginning Monday, April 13, over a raft of unresolved financial grievances.

The strike notice was issued by Seth Panyako, Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives, during a press briefing in Kisumu on Sunday.

Panyako cited delayed salaries, unremitted statutory deductions, and unresolved pension claims as key issues pushing nurses to take industrial action. He warned that the situation has left many health workers in severe financial distress.

“Nurses and other health workers in Kenyatta are not getting their pensions upon retirement,” he said, adding that even he is yet to receive his benefits after leaving service.

The union also raised concerns about prolonged casual employment at the facility, with some nurses reportedly serving on temporary terms for between four and six years. Panyako attributed this to inadequate funding, which he said has hindered proper staff absorption and remuneration.

He further alleged that statutory deductions, including loan repayments, are not being remitted, exposing nurses to penalties and damaging their credit standing.

The planned strike is expected to significantly disrupt services at the country’s largest referral hospital, raising concerns about access to healthcare for thousands of patients who rely on the facility.

Union officials have called on the government and hospital management to urgently address the grievances to avert a full-blown crisis in the health sector.

As of Sunday evening, there was no immediate response from hospital authorities or the Ministry of Health regarding the impending strike.