Nurses will earn their highest salaries ever this year once the government implements the recently signed collective bargaining agreement.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses and the government signed a CBA on Tuesday.
According to the nursing officials, nurses will now take home enhanced allowances of more than Sh50,000 every month. This includes the newly enhanced and old allowances.
However, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission still has to approve the CBA and may change some figures.
The CBA will then be deposited in court, which makes it binding.
Knun chairman Joseph Ngwasi lauded the deal saying the CBA also indicates those allowances will be improved with time.
Knun secretary general Seth Panyako expressed cautious optimism about the new CBA.
"We have met some grounds, which are going to be a foundation to achieve what we have," Panyako said.
"One of the key issues is that the government made a promise with us in 2017 of enhancing our uniform allowance, nursing service allowance and risk allowance."
Under the new agreement, nurses will see their risk allowance and uniform allowance increased by Sh5,000, with further increments expected in subsequent CBAs.
"We expected to go up to Sh25,000 in subsequent CBAs and also the nursing service allowance to go to Sh30,000 in subsequent CBAs," Panyako added.
He also commended Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for being the only public institution to fully implement the return-to-work formula of 2017.
Panyako acknowledged the lengthy and often frustrating process that led to this point.
"It is true that the nurses have waited for this CBA for more than 10 years. We have agreed more than four times and it's changed, we agree it's changed. But at long last, we have a collective agreement that will serve as a foundation for future engagement," he said.
He emphasised the union's commitment to pursuing dialogue over industrial actions, noting the irreversible consequences of such actions.
"We do not want to engage in industrial actions because most of the industrial actions result in the loss of human life, and when we lose a human life, you cannot repair it, you cannot bring it back."
Medical Services PS Harry Kimtai assured the union of the government's commitment to fulfilling its part of the agreement.
"I want to assure the union that, as agreed in this collective bargaining agreement, we shall endeavour to deliver on our part as a government," Kimtai said.
He urged the union to encourage their members to continue dedicating themselves to the delivery of services, especially as the country works towards implementing universal health care coverage.
"We want to call upon all the health workers to collaborate and work closely with the government," Kimtai added.
In May, nurses refused to join the doctors in their strike following firm promise from the government that their grievances will be addressed with no industrial action.
Some of the demands the nurses had issued included the CBA and extension of UHC staff contracts for two years under controversial terms.
In April, the ministry recommended that the 8,571 contracted health workers hired under the Universal Health Coverage be hired on permanent terms.
They are currently serving three-year contracts mostly in county hospitals but are paid by the Ministry of Health.
They also earn less than permanent employees who do similar work.
“The multi-agency task force on transition from UHC drawn from the National Treasury, the Public Service Commission, Ministry of Health and Council of Governors met," Public Health PS Mary Muthoni said in a letter to PSC CEO Simon Rotich.
"They observed it was no longer tenable to have the UHC staff continue serving at the present terms as it contravenes the employment laws.”
The directive is likely to be contested by governors, who may be required to pay their salaries.
Muthoni said making them permanent employees will cost Sh7.7 billion a year and the MoH had a budget of Sh4.2 billion for the first year.
She asked the National Treasury to provide an extra Sh3.5 billion to cover the deficit.
“The Public Service Commission is requested to approve absorption of UHC staff into permanent terms of employment by the respective County Public Service Boards,” she said.
The workers were hired on three-year contracts in April 2020 to boost the response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as smooth implementation of UHC.
All their contracts were extended by the national government for one year in May and June last year.