The standoff between striking health workers and county governments deepened yesterday as nurses, clinical officers and laboratory technicians rejected fresh talks with governors.
They vowed to remain off duty until their grievances are resolved.
In Eldoret, the confrontation moved to the doorstep of the Uasin Gishu county government.
Striking health workers stormed the county headquarters for the fourth time, blocked the main entrance for more than an hour and demanded to be addressed by Governor Jonathan Bii.
But Bii was not at the offices.
Neither was his Health executive Janet Kurgat, leaving the workers to vent their frustration outside the county headquarters.
The latest protest came as the strike entered its fourth week, disrupting services across the North Rift and putting growing pressure on Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital as patients from counties affected by the industrial action seek care there.
The striking workers also hardened their position against any attempt by the Council of Governors to obtain court orders compelling them to return to work.
Klen Kimutai, the nurses’ union secretary in Uasin Gishu, said the workers would not be intimidated into ending the strike through court action.
“We will only obey the court orders by going to jail,” Kimutai said.
He said the nurses’ union had previously faced five court cases against the Council of Governors, which he claimed the union had won, but whose orders were allegedly ignored.
Kimutai said there was therefore no basis for workers to accept new orders from governors compelling them to return to work.
The unions want the delayed conclusion of the 2025–29 collective bargaining agreement implemented, alongside the 2017 return-to-work agreement.
They are also demanding the absorption of Universal Health Coverage workers into permanent and pensionable terms.
Delayed promotions and failure to remit statutory deductions are among the other grievances raised by the unions.
“The governors are forcing us to renegotiate with them on the same issues which we concluded, but we will not engage in wasteful talks with them. Let them implement all that we agreed and signed,” Kimutai said.
Other union officials who addressed the workers outside the county headquarters — David Martin, Dennis Cheruiyot and Richard Korir — accused the governor of ignoring their grievances as patients continued to suffer in county hospitals.
Martin said the workers would remain on the streets for as long as necessary until the county government addressed their demands.
The dispute has now stretched beyond Uasin Gishu, with hospitals across the North Rift feeling the impact of the prolonged absence of health workers.
Nurses, clinical officers and laboratory technicians remain off duty in Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo.
The pressure has been felt particularly at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, which has recorded an increased number of patients as county facilities struggle to provide services.
Kimutai claimed some counties had resorted to deploying medical students to handle patients. He warned residents against risking their lives at county facilities.
The unions have also threatened to extend the industrial action to private hospitals if county governments fail to resolve the dispute.
As the stalemate deepens, religious leaders have joined calls for an urgent intervention.
Bishops and Muslim leaders urged the government and health workers to return to the negotiating table, warning that the continued dispute was putting patients’ lives at risk.
The religious leaders, led by Rev Thomas Kiptoo and Abubakar Bini, said the health crisis required urgent attention from the government.
“Health is a very critical sector concerning lives, and the government should have stopped everything to deal with this matter,” Bini said.
He urged the government to redirect resources being spent on non-core operations towards resolving the grievances raised by the striking health workers.
But the workers show no sign of backing down.
Kimutai said nurses remained the backbone of healthcare delivery and warned that the disruption would become more severe if the dispute continued.
“We have been negotiating for a long time to avert the strike. We will not resume work until our demands are met,” he said.
He said health workers wanted to serve patients without disruptions but could not do so while they believed their rights were being ignored.
“It is our desire as health workers to serve patients without such disruptions, but we cannot do so if our rights are ignored,” he said.
With the fourth week of the strike now underway, the standoff has become a test of how far county governments and health workers are prepared to push their positions, even as patients bear the consequences of the deadlock.
