KMPDU, Nandi County strike deal to end planned strike

North Rift The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) chair Darwin Ambuka and officials have announced plans to suspend planned industrial action in Nandi County.

Ambuka announced that although a final agreement had not been reached, they had decided to give dialogue with the Nandi County government a chance to avert the November strike.

Ambuka stated that they were extending 'another olive branch' to the county due to the goodwill and efforts that had been shown by the county administration under Governor Stephen Sang to resolve the issues they had raised in accordance with their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Some of the matters that were raised by the union were the payment of the basic salary as per the said CBA and the implementation of the same.

"We had raised many issues with the employer, one of them being the doctor's promotion, which has taken years.

"As KMPDU, we will present to the county government a list of all 71 doctors who need such promotions and others who do not have medical cover in a bid to ensure that the same is pursued and implemented," Ambuka noted.

The officials noted with concern how challenging the working environment has been, calling on the county government to improve not only doctors' welfare but also that of nurses and other community health workers.

Strike put on hold

The doctors had called for industrial action next month on date 8 and remained on course if their concerns are not addressed through negotiations.

"The strike will be on if the same deliberations do not bear any fruit at the end or we see any hesitancy," Edwin Rono, a member of the KMPDU, said.

Nandi County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health Ruth Koech, in a rejoinder, said the processes of issuing letters of promotion had already begun, and as a county, they have put health matters as a priority, as captured in Governor Sang’s manifesto.

"We have heard the notice of industrial action by the doctors, but we have a listening governor. That is why we have sat and deliberated on a number of their issues, and most of them were in our programs.

"The letters of promotion to doctors are being sorted out as well as other concerns raised before. There is nothing to worry about as our main focus is to improve health service delivery to Nandi residents," Koech said.