- Justice Byrum Ongaya stated that if this is not done in the next 48 hours, the court will have to hold a hearing of the petitions in the case from 2:30 pm for two hours.
Image: The Star
The Employment and Labour Relations Court has directed the government and striking doctors to conclude the return-to-work formula by Wednesday.
"Parties are given a final chance to conclude a return-to-work formula by return date failing the Court will hear the petitions and determine all pending applications in the petition," the orders read.
Justice Byrum Ongaya stated that if this is not done in the next 48 hours, the court will have to hold a hearing of the petitions in the case from 2:30 pm for two hours.
The Wednesday session, he said, will be shared by the parties' counsel for purposes of the hearing, as the case may be.
The Judge advised that as the parties are on a threshold for concluding the return-to-work formula, they are encouraged to proceed accordingly, in good faith.
He stated that for purposes of the hearing and if no return-to-work formula is concluded, parties will be at liberty to file and serve soft and hard copy submissions by noon on May 8, 2024.
The stalemate between the striking doctors and the government experienced a hitch during a Friday meeting that went on late into the night.
In the meeting with the Whole of the Nation Approach Committee, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) failed to sign the return-to-work formula.
The Union accused the government of failing to commit to timelines of implementation of the issues raised on the strike notice.
Upon their disagreement, the Committee representing both the county and the national governments signed the document, which was expected to be presented before the court on Monday.
KMPDU officials then stated that they would sign a different document that captures their demands and present the same in court as the return-to-work formula.
On Thursday, the labour court had directed the parties to sign the document.
On the same day, the Council of Governors (CoG) appeared before a joint Parliament sitting of the health committee alongside KMPDU, Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) and the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) to try and settle their grievances.
Then, KMPDU insisted that the document from the negotiations was incomplete and could not be a return-to-work formula.
The union added that several issues were pending from the strike notice.
Before Monday's court orders, a meeting had been planned for Tuesday, between the CoG, KMPDU, KUCO and KNUMLO to agree on the return-to-work formula.
Image: FILE