Kenyan nurses have gone on strike, with Kenyatta National Hospital becoming the first institution to be affected.
The strike comes barely two months after they signed a collective bargaining agreement that averted a strike in December.
Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) secretary-general Seth Panyako said on Thursday some employers were yet to keep their part of the bargain.
“We agreed that members would go on strike if any hospital fails to effect these payments by the end of January,” he said.
The union added that while the government had disbursed monies to the counties, some counties were refusing to pay the nurses as agreed in the deal.
According to the deal signed between the nurses, the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors, nurses in job group M and above would get Sh15,000 in special allowances while those in job group G to L would receive Sh20,000 every month.
Nonetheless, according to Lily Koros, the chief executive officer of Kenyatta National Hospital, implementation of the pay agreement could take up to two months because nurses were changing union membership.
READ MORE:Nurses announce February 1 striking day
Late last month, the Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya had promised nurses that their boosted pay would be included in their January salaries.
