The Secretary-General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists & Dentists Union (KMPDU) Davji Atellah, has urged the governors to couple their threats with long-overdue salary payments to doctors who have endured years of minimal or nonexistent compensation.
This comes days after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja threatened to sack Nairobi doctors who went on strike. Atellah, speaking from Kirinyaga County on Monday, urged the governors to couple their threats with long-overdue salary payments to doctors who have endured years of minimal or nonexistent compensation.
“Any governor attempting to coerce or intimidate doctors should first settle their dues, stretching back up to seven years,” Atellah asserted, highlighting the stark disparity between rhetoric and reality.
Furthermore, Atellah implored governors insisting on doctors’ return to work to ensure comprehensive medical coverage for each healthcare professional. He underscored the imperative for all county governments to promptly address salary concerns for experienced doctors and interns before considering an end to the strike.
Expressing dismay over the plight of doctors in Kirinyaga, some of whom had gone unpaid for over 65 days with no clear resolution in sight, Atellah emphasized the detrimental impact of delayed salaries on essential statutory deductions.
He emphasized the necessity for equitable contracts and called for the reinstatement of dismissed doctors, contending that such actions contravened court mandates.
Asserting the constitutional right to strike, Atellah rebuffed attempts to coerce or intimidate doctors back to work, emphasizing the primacy of implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in accordance with court orders.
The strike, initiated on March 13, has prompted a wave of threats from governors and officials seeking to compel doctors’ return to hospitals amid a deteriorating healthcare landscape.
Governor Sakaja, for instance, issued a stern 12-hour ultimatum to city doctors, threatening termination for non-compliance. Similarly, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha warned of potential replacements for striking doctors.
In a show of solidarity, Kirinyaga Governor and Council of Governors Chairperson Anne Waiguru directed counties to take disciplinary action against non-compliant doctors, underscoring the escalating tensions between healthcare providers and government authorities.
