Nurses' strike bites as govt dismisses union

Written By:Marion Kanai,    Posted: Tue, Dec 18, 2012

Striking nurses. The Ministry of Labour has declined to register the nurses' union The Ministry of Labor has declined to register the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) in a move that is likely to deepen the crisis in the health sector occasioned by the nurses' strike. The National Labor Board dismissed calls for registration of the union claiming the association does not meet the threshold of recognition as a labor movement. The board that draws its representatives from the government, Federation of Kenya Employers and COTU dismissed the ongoing nurses' strike declaring it illegal. Addressing the media in its offices Tuesday morning, the board castigated the leaders of the nurses association calling on law enforcers to investigate their conduct. This latest move is bound to irk the nurses who have been on strike over the past three weeks pushing for the registration of the Union. The strike has paralyzed services at public health institutions and already casualties witnessed with the death of an infant at the Malindi district hospital owing to neglect. Charity Baya alleges she received no assistance and was forced to give birth at a nearby kiosk in full view of members of the public. Her husband was trying to transfer her to a private hospital due to the strike when the incident occurred. The new born baby boy died at the hospital gates immediately her mother gave birth.