Kenya health workers agree with government to end 2-week strike

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan public health workers have ended a near two-week strike over pay after reaching a deal with the government which withdrew a threat to sack 25,000 members of their union, officials said on Thursday.

The protest, that left ill patients without medical treatment, was the latest in a string of strikes to grip east Africa's biggest economy in the past year as soaring consumer prices fanned widespread discontent.

"The entire workforce in government hospitals resumed their duties after a return-to-work formula was reached," said Alex Orina, spokesman for the Kenya Health Professionals Society that represents the striking workers.

"Any employee who fails to report on duty by the end of Thursday evening will be dealt with individually according to disciplinary procedures," Orina told Reuters.

He said their workers' demand for pay raises would be addressed in the next government budget that commences in July, and hospitals closed due to the strike have been re-opened.

Kenya's government said last week it had sacked 25,000 public health workers after they refused to end their strike, but had now withdrawn all the dismissal letters. The government had said the health workers were acting unethically.

"All the striking health workers have resumed their duties and now there is no problem in the health sector," Alfred Khangati, an assistant minister in the office of the prime minister which held talks with the workers union.

HIGH COSTS

He told Reuters a team would be formed to look into the problems affecting the health sector, including pay for the workers.

Private hospitals and clinics, where richer families send their sick, have opened as usual because their health workers are not members of the strikers' union.

The striking health workers' union had said the threat of mass sacking was a government ploy to get them to resume work.

Early this month, the government threatened to sack striking workers at the state broadcaster, but rolled back its plan after meeting them, instead agreeing to offer better pay.

Frustration has been mounting in Kenya at the high cost of food and fuel. The government will be keen for the rate of inflation to maintain its downward trend ahead of a general election expected within the next 12 months.

Kenya's inflation rate slowed for the third consecutive month to 16.7 percent in February, after reaching 20 percent in November.

Doctors, university lecturers, primary school teachers and workers at the state broadcaster have also taken strike action within the past year.

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Health workers call off Strike

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Is the health workers' strike ethical?

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The rise in the number of tragic events in the country has raised pertinent questions about the whole issue of ethics in the medical profession. Critics argue that health workers are bound by the ethics of their profession to save life no matter what. But some senior medics beg to differ, as NTV's Sheila Sendeiyo found out.

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Health Care Workers Strike

There seems to be a glimmer of hope that the nurses strike could be coming to an end as union officials urged the health workers to return to work as negotiations continue. Kenya Union Of Civil Servants Secretary General Tom Odege says returning to work will not abort their cause, rather, it will enable the union officials to have a leeway to hold further talks with the government regarding the workers grievances. And as Sylvia Chebet reports, Odege assures that no health worker will lose their job despite the ministry's threat.

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Health workers' strike called off

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Some good news for patients at government hospitals -- the four-day strike by health workers has in the last hour been called off. Medical Services Minister, Professor Anyang' Nyong'o, made the announcement jointly with union officials, following a long meeting that ended late Sunday evening. NTV's Jane Ngoiri with that story.

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Health workers' strike called off

http://www.ntv.co.ke/
Some good news for patients at government hospitals -- the four-day strike by health workers has in the last hour been called off. Medical Services Minister, Professor Anyang' Nyong'o, made the announcement jointly with union officials, following a long meeting that ended late Sunday evening. NTV's Jane Ngoiri with that story.

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Health workers' strike enters day 2

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Patients continue to bear the brunt of the health workers' strike that has now entered the second day. At Kiambu District Hospital, patients were forced to hire ambulances and taxis to take them to private hospitals, when it became apparent they would not get no help at the government hospital.

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Health workers make good on strike threat

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Public health workers countrywide have today made good their threat to down tools paralyzing operations at almost all government hospitals in the country. In Nairobi, after converging at Uhuru Park in the morning as a show of solidarity, the health workers then proceeded to the Kenyatta National Hospital to flush out any of their colleagues they say were betraying their course by continuing with work despite calls to strike. The Union of Kenya Civil Servants has demanded that the Government pays health workers all extraneous allowances, improves working conditions and employs more workers before its members could go back to work. The union also wants all health workers on contract absorbed into permanent employment. Patients across the country are now bearing the brunt of a strike that experts warn could have serious implications if nothing is done about it.

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