- The doctors agreed to the deal after days of painstaking negotiations that occasionally went into the wee hours of the night to end the 54-day strike.
- It becomes the second longest doctors’ strike in a decade after the 100-day strike seven years ago, which gave rise to the contentious 2017 CBA.
Image: MOH
The government has committed to fully implement the return-to-work formula it signed with doctors on Wednesday, bringing to an end weeks of protracted negotiations.
The doctors agreed to the deal after days of painstaking negotiations that occasionally went into the wee hours of the night to end the 54-day strike.
It became the second longest doctors’ strike in a decade after the 100-day strike seven years ago, which gave rise to the contentious 2017 CBA.
“On several occasions, we came closer and indeed thought that we had arrived at a deal but it was not to be and we kept the country waiting. However, last night, we all found a place in our hearts to agree,” Nakhumicha said.
“Last night, we left the Ministry of Health at 3 am and the deal breaker was ‘is this a deal for execution or just for signing’, and we agreed that it was a deal for execution.”
Nakhumicha said the deal could not have been reached at a better time than now when the country is grappling with a flooding crisis and the ministry is accelerating access to universal health coverage.
“I’m confident that what we have signed unto today, having consulted widely, this is a deal that is going to be implemented by all of us,” the Health CS assured the country.
The CS acknowledged that the issues that led to the doctors’ strike are systemic and precede the current government, and as such, require a lasting solution.
Cognizant of this, Nakhumicha said the Health Ministry on Monday inaugurated a joint task force with the Education Ministry to address the perennial issues that have been forcing doctors to resort to industrial action.
She said the strike provided an opportunity for the government to introspect on how best the welfare of medical workers can be addressed.
As part of the resolution, she said plans are underway to review staffing norms and standards and enhance HRH coordination through the Kenyan Health Human Resource Advisory Council.
“And within the next 90 days, the Ministry of Health will also review existing staffing norms and standards which were last published in 2016 and this will set forth the stage of filling the gaps that have existed within the health sector,” Nakhumicha said.
The CS said the government is undertaking the reforms in full cognizance that health is a devolved function with a shared human resource mandate with the counties.
She said all future discussions and agreements regarding human resources for health will acknowledge the distinct employers within the health sector.
“I also call upon the unions and their representatives to be mindful of the need to strengthen the employee-employer relationship to build mutual trust that will resolve future conflicts for the benefit of wananchi,” CS Nakhumicha said.
“There’s no denying that this strike has caused a lot of anxiety and pain among the public."
The talks were steered by the Whole of Nation Approach Committee chaired by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.
The Labour Court, the Ministry of Labour and the Central Organization of Trade Unions were mediators in the conflict between the State and doctors under their union, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Dentists and Pharmacists Union.
Nakhumicha expressed gratitude to all parties involved in the negotiations, acknowledging the tireless efforts of ministry staff, principal secretaries, technical officers and the Whole of Nation approach committee.