The association spoke as Council of Governors chairman Josphat Nanok ruled out any further negotiations and directed governors to take action against nurses.
Mr Nanok said that all nurses who are still on strike should be sacked by their respective county governments as the strike had been declared illegal by the courts.
The nurses association chairman Alfred Obengo in an interview said they were ready for talks that would lead to a lasting solution.
The National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNA) has asked the Council of Governors to consider dialogue with nurses before resorting to other measures as threatened.
The association spoke as Council of Governors chairman Josphat Nanok ruled out any further negotiations and directed governors to take action against nurses who have not heeded the call to return to work.
Mr Nanok said that all nurses who are still on strike should be sacked by their respective county governments as the strike had been declared illegal by the courts.
“The counties are free to advertise for new applicants to replace those who had not reported back to work after September 8. We have given the governors the go ahead and advertise for the jobs,” Mr Nanok said in Shamanei village in Laikipia County where he had gone to condole with his Laikipia counterpart Ndiritu Muriithi who lost his mother on Friday.
The Turkana Governor ruled out dialogue, saying there was no further room for negotiations with the nurses who have been on strike since June.
The nurses association chairman Alfred Obengo in an interview said they were ready for talks that would lead to a lasting solution.
“The CoG is the employer and is therefore at liberty to take any step including legal action they feel is good for them but before then, there is need to hear out both sides of the matter,” Mr Obengo said.
He said nurses were ready to initiate the negotiations, saying the threats issued by the CoG were meant to intimidate them.
“We remain in solidarity with the nurses in their struggle as we continue to appeal for constructive dialogue to end the suffering of innocent Kenyans,” he said.
Governor Nanok said some governors were new in government and needed time to reorganize their governments.
“The court has already ruled on the matter so it is either they report back to work or be sacked,” he said about the striking nurses.
“We are all aware that we are having new governors in offices while others have were re-elected. The nurses should first report back to work as we find a solution to their grievances,” said the CoG chairman.
While sympathizing with suffering patients, Mr Nanok said that the governors’ council had done everything possible to end the strike but nurses were adamant on resolving the matter.
“As council we have tried our best by doing everything possible but they have been maintaining their hand stand whereas Kenyans are suffering on the other side,’’ he added.
Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi pleaded with nurses to report back to work and give the new county administrations to look into their grievances.
“They should return back to work as they give the new counties administrations time to resolve the whole issue,” he said.
The late Elizabeth Mumbi Githinji who died at the age of 86, will be laid to rest on Friday this week at the family’s Shamanei farm in Laikipia County.
Meanwhile, the nurses’ association says it will move to court to petition against the Health Act 2017 signed into law by President Uhuru Kenyatta in June.
“The president assented to the Bill and it has since been published in the Kenyan Gazette but we feel it is not all inclusive and it is in only favour of doctors, leaving out the rest of the medical practitioners” Mr Obengo said.
He claimed there was no stakeholder participation in the formulation of a law, adding that doctors had hijacked the process.
“We feel it’s a doctor’s Bill and not a Health Bill as portrayed,” he said.
Among others, nurses claim the Act locks them out of the powerful position of Director General at Afya House, which is equivalent to the position of Director of Medical services
Nurses across the country have been on strike since June demanding implementation of a contentious Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui has since formed a taskforce to address matters affecting the health sector, including the nurses’ strike.
The team is expected to table its report at the end of September.
