The doctors’ strike has finally come to an end after 56 days as the government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) signed a return-to-work formula.
Speaking after signing the return-to-work agreement, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah confirmed that the doctor’s strike is indeed called off.
“We had a long meeting today with the National Advisory Council which is the highest decision-making organ and they endorsed that we sign this return-to-work formula today so that it can pave the way for doctors to return to work within 24 hours from now,” he said.
He said that the government has insisted that the doctors need to believe in them.
“We have decided to take the promise for the last time, as we take this, one of the fundamental issues that is of doctor interns is still pending,”
The KMPDU boss pointed out that the highly contentious issue of posting and remuneration of intern doctors still remains unsolved, with the matter now left to the courts to handle.
Atellah said that they could not agree on this because the union wanted the doctors’ intern posted immediately per the CBA, yet the government wanted them to wait for the court litigation before the agreement.
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha, on her part, commended the union’s leaders for their tough negotiating skills, as well as for eventually giving in and bringing an end to the near two month-long strike that caused a crisis in the country.
CS Nakhumicha said the return-to-work formula was reached after a meeting held at the Ministry of Health on Tuesday night that stretched into the wee hours of Wednesday.
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