- The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union has signed the return-to-work formula agreement.
- Speaking after signing the return-to-work agreement, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah confirmed that the doctor's strike is indeed called off.
Image: HANDOUT
The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union has signed the return-to-work formula agreement.
The Ministry of Health in a statement said that the move ends the nationwide doctors' strike.
"After 56 days, KMPDU signs agreement, ending nationwide doctors' strike," MOH said.
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.
"That means the strike that began on March 13, has been called off."
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,"
Atellah said that they could not agree on the issue of posting interns 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.
"All the doctor interns will have to wait a little bit longer, we have agreed on sixty days that they will not be posted but we will be having conversations on this issue," he added.
He assured doctors that the union will always endeavour to protect the rights of worked enshrined in the CBA.
On Tuesday, doctors said they were ready to comply with court orders to agree with the state on a return-to-work formula within 48 hours.
Their union had previously said it would not honour court orders that suspended the strike on March 13, accusing the government of disobeying orders.
Doctors have been on strike since March 14 paralysing service provision across all public health facilities.
They are demanding full implementation of their Collective Bargaining Agreement signed in 2017.
They listed a total of 19 issues they wanted resolved, top among them the posting of medical interns on a Sh206,000 monthly salary.
Of the 19 issues doctors raised, six relate to counties, nine to the national government, and four to both levels of government.
The government had offered a Sh70,000 monthly stipend which they have rejected.
The government had tabled a fresh Sh6.1 billion offer to address doctors' demands even as the striking medics insisted on 'no deal' until the contentious issue - posting of interns - is cleared.