MESSAGE FROM THE UNION & THE GENERAL SECRETARY.
The Union takes this opportunity to express her appreciation to everyone who made the KNUN CONFERENCE a success. Indeed, it was a great honour to see Nurses, supporters, Partners, Union Leaders and other stakeholders attend the conference. Being our 1st Labour & Workforce Scientific Conference, we would like to appreciate the presence of the following keynote speakers who made brilliant presentations as outlined in the topics below;
1) Dr. Rashid Aman- Cabinet Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Health: He was the Chief Guest who graced the event.
2) Mr. Nixon Shigoli- MD AAR Insurance Kenya Ltd: Modern Workforce And Technology in Service Industry.
3) Dr. Thuranira Kaugiria- General Secretary KMPDU Nairobi County Branch: The Power in number: the role of the Health Service Commission and collaboration between unions.
4) Bro. Justus Kiplangat- President, Uganda National Nurses and Midwives Union (UNMU): The Role of Trade Unions Globally.
5) Dr. Musa Nyandusi – Director, Occupational Safety and Health: Challenges of having a decent and safe work place.
6) Mr. Moses Ombokh – Senior Executive Officer, Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE): Dispute Resolutions for Trade Unions; Best practices for averting industrial Action.
7) Prof. David Gathara – KEMRI Wellcome Trust: The role of nurses in ensuring patient safety and quality outcomes.
8) Ms. Beatrice Amboko- Doctoral Fellow; KEMRI Wellcome Research Programme: Healthcare workforce, quality of care and Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
9) Ms. Esther Kiara- Representative-Africa Healthcare Federation: Healthcare Workforce Challenges and Opportunities.
10) Ms Caroline Macharia-Representative, Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK): Emerging Approaches/ Trends in Sourcing for Healthcare Workerforce and Need for Indemnity Cover.
11) Bro. Dan Aloo and Bro. Joseph Pepe- Kenya National Union of Teachers: The role of the Trade Unions in establishing good employment and workforce practices.
THE GENERAL SECRETARY’S MESSAGE
“During our seven (7) year history as a Trade Union, we have navigated through periods of hardship caused by both internal factors and global economic challenges. However, we have remained focused on our objectives through our spirit of solidarity.
We have been able to negotiate and successfully oversee implementation of CBAs for Tenwek, Kijabe and MTRH. We are currently reviewing CBAs for Kijabe, Jacaranda, MSF and negotiating the National and County Governments’ CBAs which we hope to complete soon.
We are in the midst of hard times in which there is direct assault on trade unionism aimed at limiting Freedom of Association. We are combining our professionalism and experience to counter these retro-progressive actions and we are making profound social, economic and political impact in the communities we serve around the country.
We will continue doing so today and in future. Our Union has weathered many storms but our brand has never been stronger or more relevant than now. Our commitment and steadfastness have been more robust and rewarding, which in most cases have left our detractors puzzled.
Our long term commitment to deliver and maintain sound industrial relations is unwavering. I can assure you that we will continue to lead and manage the Union through the lens of humanity, professionalism and with desired zeal doing everything we can to continue making our families, employers, the nursing fraternity and citizens proud of our Union. THIS I PROMISE YOU.
Today’s financial market volatility, combined with great political uncertainty and the ever increasing need to control wage bill by SRC will undoubtedly affect our paycheque, confidence and perhaps even our attitudes and behavior resulting in increased levels of anxiety, but always remember that our success is not an entitlement, but something we need to earn every day.
Let us be very sensitive to the pressures our society may be feeling, and do everything we can to individually and collectively exceed their expectations. I am confident that we shall thrive in today’s challenging environment as we have done in the past even as we move towards the full realization of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) which is part of the Government’s Big four Agenda. However, without the government recognizing, listening and addressing issues affecting nursing service delivery, UHC will remain a pipe dream.
It’s therefore our proposal that Human Resource functions in Health Service at both levels of Government should be centralized under a Health Service Commission and budgetary allocation for health enhanced to WHO recommended 5% of National Budget.”
Thank you all for ensuring success of the conference. God bless Nurses, God bless the Union.
