Court orders striking Kisumu medics to return to work

The Employment and Labor Relations Court in Kisumu on Wednesday ordered striking health workers in the county to return to work by Friday this week.

Justice Nduma Nderi, who declined to declare the strike which has lasted over two weeks as illegal, also directed the county government to effect promotion of the workers by June 30, 2020.

Justice Nderi, in his ruling, said the county must also backdate their promotion arrears to July 2019 and pay such by July 30 this year failure to which the workers are free to call another strike.

In the suit, Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o’s administration had sought the court’s intervention to halt the strike by the health workers.

The county had sued the Kenya National Union of Clinical Officers, Kenya National Union of Nurses, Kenya National Medical Laboratory Officers and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants.

Governor Nyong’o on June 11 threatened to sack the over 3,000 medical professionals if they failed to resume work but they called his bluff further accusing the Kisumu County boss of neglecting them and their needs.

“We’re not going to be cowed by sacking threats. Our issues are legitimate and we will listen to nothing short of addressing them,” said Kenya National Union of Nurses, Kisumu branch secretary Maurice Opetu.