Hospital Staff Start Protests Over Poor Management, Worsened Conditions
On Monday, December 2, staff at Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) came out to the streets to demand that Professor Olive Mugenda, the hospital’s board chair, be removed.
In footage posted on X, irate medics can be seen continuously chanting “Mugenda Must Go,” a demand spurred by charges of hospital mismanagement.
Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital (KUTRRH) medics, staff and non-staff workers have staged a demonstration demanding the resignation of Prof. Olive Mugenda, citing alleged mismanagement and unfair labour practices.
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) December 2, 2024
Key grievances include nonpayment of… pic.twitter.com/FQI8TS1xYF
A petition signed by delegates from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) stated ten demands from the institution’s medical and non-medical workers before they resume work.
The message indicated that the majority of the employees had begun working at the institution in 2019 and that while the staff had complained since the pandemic, hospital conditions remained constant.
“As the Hospital continues to increase in staff and patient numbers, a number of issues have also arisen, most of which have been addressed to your office with little or no response at all, aimed at addressing the said issues,” part of the statement read.
“This has not only led to untold suffering among the aggrieved staff members not limited to poor staff morale, toxic work environment, stagnation in same job group, loss of income, mental ill health, staff attrition, just to name a few.”
Staff at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral, and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) protesting over suspended medical cover pic.twitter.com/NFlb3saCC4
— tv47ke (@Tv47Newske) December 2, 2024
They went on to outline ten demands for hospital administration to meet, with the top one being the immediate and proper classification and alignment of job grades.
The message then directed management to state their stance on workplace sexual harassment.
This is a problem that has gone untreated despite multiple reports from victims, emboldening the offenders and negatively impacting the victims’ mental health and professional performance.
In a similar demand, the hospital’s nurses, who make up the majority of the workforce, highlighted concerns about ongoing harassment and unjust treatment by their leadership.
Kenyatta University Teaching & Referral Hospital(@kutrrh) medics, staffs and non staff workers currently demonstrating and demanding resignation of Prof. @OliveMugenda over the mismanagement of the Hospital. pic.twitter.com/CBUYZKYwyc
— DOUGLAS (@Dagiraz) December 2, 2024
This concern was also raised when employees requested workplace equity and fairness, particularly about employment terms.
They indicated that, despite having identical needs, some were engaged on a permanent basis while others were on a contract basis, which hampered their career advancement.
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In the same spirit, they wanted a reduction in working hours from 180 to 160 hours, as well as a reform of worker welfare, to reflect the hospital’s level 6 status.
To accomplish the latter, they asked the following: a functional staff clinic, a clear policy for dealing with sick days, public holidays, and bereavement, functional call rooms per department, a fully equipped doctors’ lounge per department, and a remission of staff medical expenses.
They also asked for the creation of a Doctors Plaza for private and specialized care, an increase in allowances, and the formation of a Research, Ethics, and Review Committee.
The following allowances were requested: nurses’ and doctors’ uniform allowance, risk allowances for all medical and non-medical workers, leave allowance at the one-month basic salary or CBA rates, and radiation exposure allowance for the essential medical staff
Hospital Staff Start Protests Over Poor Management, Worsened Conditions
