The Kenyan government has fired 25,000 public health care workers who went on strike last week for better pay.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua announced the firings Thursday, saying the workers have been “deleted from payroll,” and will soon receive letters of dismissal.

Mutua then invited qualified health professionals to apply for the open positions beginning Friday.

The workers, most of them nurses, were striking to demand higher wages and increased allowances for transportation and other items. The work stoppage has crippled Kenyan public hospitals and clinics.

Mutua said Thursday that it is unethical for health professionals to, in his words, “abscond duty,” and said the strike had led to loss of life and suffering.