Secretary General Seth Panyako said on  Saturday that nurses would not return to work until the government implements agreements reached with the union, including the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

“Up to now, the return-to-work formula of 2017 has never been implemented by the current government,” Panyako said during a media briefing on the ongoing industrial action.

He said nurses were frustrated that agreements made with other groups following the 2017 labour disputes had been implemented while commitments affecting nurses remained outstanding.

“Our colleagues that had an argument in 2017 have had those arguments honoured and arrears have been paid. We don’t understand why the government feels like nurses are not important and they should not have an argument,” he said.

Panyako said the union was aware that its decision to continue with the strike despite court orders directing health workers to resume duty could have legal consequences.

“We are saying as a union, the court has stood in our way from 2016 up to now. The CoG and SRC liaise with the courts. You can see even our courts giving final orders,” he said.

He, however, maintained that the union was prepared to face the consequences of its decision if doing so would force the government to address nurses’ concerns.

“We are therefore, as law-abiding citizens, ready to appear in court and ready to tell the court that we want to take the punishment that might be meted out to us if that is what will mean nurses of this country can be respected,” Panyako said.

“Otherwise, there is no going back to work,” he added.

The nurses began their nationwide strike on July 29 after the union issued a seven-day notice demanding action on a number of unresolved issues.

At the centre of the dispute is the failure to conclude negotiations for the 2025-2029 CBA, which the union says has delayed improvements in nurses’ salaries and terms of service.

The union has also accused authorities of failing to implement the 2017 Return-to-Work Agreement despite years of negotiations.

KNUNM is further demanding the absorption of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) nurses into permanent and pensionable employment, implementation of approved career guidelines and resolution of the employment dispute involving 46 nurses dismissed by Kisii County Government.

The union has also raised concerns over salary structures, shortages of nurses in public facilities and failure by employers to remit some third-party deductions.

In an earlier statement, it said the 2017 agreement remained largely unimplemented despite years of follow-up.

Panyako has previously argued that the dispute cannot simply be blamed on devolution, saying healthcare is a shared constitutional function involving both levels of government.

“The Ministry of Health, we have already a CBA. The career guideline I’m talking about has already been implemented in the national government,” he said in an August 11 interview.

“Health is not a devolved function. Health is what we call in the Constitution a shared function,” Panyako said.

The prolonged strike has disrupted services in public hospitals, with referral facilities such as Kenyatta National Hospital reporting increased pressure as patients seek treatment after services at county facilities were affected.

KNH has advised patients seeking non-emergency care to consider other facilities while maintaining that emergency and critical services remain available.

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