No respite as medics vow to press on with strike

A meeting called by the government to resolve the looming crisis in the health sector ended in a stalemate after the doctors’ union rejected a return to work formula put on the table by the Health Ministry.

The meeting, convened by Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha collapsed, with the doctors vowing to escalate their strike until their grievances are fully met. Addressing a press conference after Nakhumicha had told journalists that the two parties had agreed on most of their grievances, the doctors remained adamant the strike is still.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) officials acknowledged that even with ministry goodwill and commitment to resolve the stalemate, calling off the strike would renege the members’ demands.

“We had an impromptu meeting with some officials from the Ministry of Health in what we hoped to be an attempt to make the first right. But from the beginning, I want to make it clear that the strike is still on,” said the union’s national chairman, Dr Abidan Mwachi.

“We however, noted that the doctors intended this to be the last strike, and therefore called on the parties involved to get it right on the negotiations,” he added.

The doctors rejected earlier announcements by the CS they had agreed on most of the grievances as presented to the Ministry by the Union. “There is absolutely no particular matter that we agreed on, a little progress, but not anything tangible,” Dr Mwachi added.

Numerous promises

According to Dr Davji Atellah, KMPDU Secretary General, the doctors are apprehensive of the numerous promises that have dominated previous engagements with the government, and were reluctant to continue trusting them.

One of the issues the doctors have expressed skepticism about is the delayed posting of medical interns, which Atellah said they have been taken in circles for a long time.

He termed the CS’ pronouncement that the interns will be posted next month, “just a promise like many others before.” He said that there have been commitments before with both the national and county governments, particularly in January 2023, but regretted nothing has been implemented to date.

Accept promises

“Therefore as we go on with this strike, we are not going to accept promises. We know very well that we have had a promise before, that the interns were to be posted in February. We also had a promise that they will be posted in March. Today we have been given a promise that they will be posted in April,” noted Atellah, pointing out:  “I must say that goodwill is earned and it’s earned from the outcome of previous commitments.”

He stated that in the ongoing strike, the doctors will not accept commitments, but outcomes for the doctors.

“We want outcomes for the basic salary arrears that have not been paid for seven years; letters posting interns as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was signed in 2017. We want outcomes that facilitate doctors struggling with their post graduate to do their exams,” he said, adding that the union wants doctors to be employed in the country to run the UHC.

“So it’s not a strike of promises, but one for real outcomes,” he said.

He praised Justice Byrum Ongaya’s March 13 orders, one of them directing issues raised by the doctors, and the response from the Ministry of Health, requires a ‘whole-nation-approach’ to resolve, saying the Union’s hopes are pegged on this meeting’s outcomes.

“Although this order instituting the whole-nation-approach was put ahead of the order suspending the strike, it’s the reason we are saying that the wise judge was quite smart to ensure that a whole nation approach is instituted.

“Therefore, our strike is pegged on the whole nation-approach to resolve the issues that we have put forward, so we are not going to call off the strike before that meeting,” he said, noting that the doctors would still be scornful of outcomes that won’t give value to the Union members.

The doctors’ sentiments come moments after the Health CS said the ministry had in yesterday morning’s meeting agreed to begin posting interns from April 1 after receiving a confirmation from the Treasury that funds will be released.

In a briefing at Afya House, Nakhumicha said progress had been made in addressing issues that lie within the ministry. She disclosed that it had been resolved that issues which require a whole nation approach be escalated for further discussion.

“However, matters which require multi-stakeholder engagement will be addressed in a meeting which will be held later this week,” she told journalists.

The CS said most of the issues that had been raised by the doctors are crosscutting, and would require the involvement of other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education; Council of Governors, the Salaries Remuneration Commission (SRC), the National Treasury and the head of Public Service.

“We also took note of ongoing conciliation meetings that are in progress and as a ministry together with the union we have agreed to participate fully, in order to give the conciliation team the information that they need so that the matters can be progressed,” Nakhumicha said.

Sticky issue

She said the sticky issue of the lapsed CBA of 2017 is one of the issues they agreed that should be progressed with the conciliator. “As a Ministry we also discussed with the Union on the matters that solidly lie within the MOH,” she said explaining that from the matters that the doctors raised, there are those that should be handled by the Ministry and there are those they agreed that the Union move on.

“So on matters that are to be handled by the Ministry, I am happy to report that as a Ministry of Health we have made very good progress, and one of the issues was on the internship programme.

“So we have agreed that they’re going to participate in the review of the internship policy that’s currently ongoing - and chaired by the Acting Director General of Health, Dr Patrick Amoth - so that we review the policy, and ensure that it’s allied to the Universal Health Coverage and it addresses all the emerging issues that we have heard,” she said.

She said that the Ministry and doctors also agreed to proceed with the negotiations on the matter of the CBA that lapsed.

“The status as it is; is that the Union wrote to the Ministry, and the Ministry had written back with a counter offer, but both parties were yet to sit and discuss,” she said, but pointed out that they have agreed that within this week, the ministry will host a meeting so that the matters that are in the CBA can be addressed and negotiations begin.

“We have also discussed and agreed on the pending arrears for registrars that PS Harry Kimtai is going to take charge and have a discussion with universities so that reconciliation is done of all the outstanding arrears, and equally, we have received commitments from Treasury on availability of resources,” she said.

However, while dismissing the CS’ announcement of a ray of agreements reached, Atellah called upon doctors working at Kenyatta National Hospital offering minimum services and those working at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, working on the same, to have the matter of strike escalated “so that we can have quicker resolution to it.”