Nurses working at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret town are set to have a better working environment including a salary increase.
This followed the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the MTRH and the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN).
The four-year CBA that covers between July 2022 and June 2026 was signed on Tuesday evening.
Speaking after signing the CBA, MTRH Chief Executive Officer Dr Wilson Aruasa affirmed the hospital’s commitment to fully implementing it.
“The CBA covers all the non-financial issues and also financial issues from basic salary to allowances as approved by state agencies including the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC),” said Dr Aruasa.
“We are very excited and we are very sure that we will implement the CBA to the fulness,” he added.
The MTRH CEO pointed out that the agreement was reached following intense negotiations between the two parties through social dialogue.
“Where there will be small misunderstanding, the CBA has come up with a procedure of how to handle it,” said the MTRH boss.
Service delivery
National Secretary General of the nurses’ union Seth Panyako who signed the CBA on behalf of the nurses says if implemented, it will enable them to focus on service delivery.
Panyako hailed the current leadership of MTRH which he said had helped transform the institution to be the best for nurses in Kenya to work in today.
“The CBA has improved nurses’ terms and conditions. Eight years ago, MTRH was not one of the best places for nurses to be, but it is the best today. This remains the best employer for nurses in the country,” said the KNUN Secretary General.
This is the second CBA that the nurses’ union has signed with MTRH following the successful implementation of the 2017/2021 one.
As a result of the previous CBA, MTRH has not witnessed any strike from its nurses for the last 8 years, a situation Panyako is optimistic will not be changing any time soon.
For the last few days, MTRH management has signed several CBAs with its workers as it seeks to ensure there are no industrial actions that might affect the delivery of health services at the facility ranked as the second biggest public referral hospital in Kenya.
It had earlier signed a CBA with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentist Union (KMPDU) as well as the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA).
