NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 24 – The Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) has issued a seven-day nationwide strike notice to nurses and midwives working in county health facilities, warning that services will be withdrawn from 12:01 a.m. on July 29 unless the government resolves long-standing labour disputes. The notice significantly escalates the crisis in Kenya’s public health sector, coming as doctors and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers continue to push for the implementation of collective bargaining agreements and employment commitments.
In a statement issued Thursday, the union said it had formally notified the Ministry of Health, the Public Service Commission, the Council of Governors (CoG), the Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and all 47 county governments of the planned industrial action. KNUNM said years of negotiations had yielded little progress, accusing government agencies of failing to honour agreements and protect the rights of nurses and midwives. “If the relevant authorities fail to address our collective bargaining rights and other demands highlighted in the strike notice within the next seven days, a total nationwide withdrawal of nursing and midwifery services will commence on 29th July, 2026, at 00:01 AM,” the union said.
The union added that all concerned government institutions had acknowledged receipt of the strike notice and could no longer claim ignorance of the issues facing healthcare workers. KNUNM cited several unresolved grievances behind the planned strike, including failure to conclude the 2025–2029 Centralized Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), failure to implement the 2017 Return-to-Work Agreement, delayed transition of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff to permanent and pensionable terms and continued delays in implementing agreements affecting nurses and midwives across county governments. The union said it had negotiated with the government in good faith for years but had repeatedly encountered broken promises and administrative delays.
On the contentious UHC programme, KNUNM acknowledged Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Parliament and other national institutions for facilitating the allocation of Sh8.6 billion to absorb UHC workers.
Summary from source