KMPDU vows to persist until demands met amidst ongoing doctors’ strike
The Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Davji Atellah, has reiterated the union’s stance that it will remain on strike until its demands are met.
Speaking at a meeting of the union’s national officers in Kirinyaga on Monday, April 1, Atellah criticised the Ministry of Health under Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha and county governments for intimidating doctors with threats of dismissal.
“No one should think that they’re more important or patriotic than us by preventing us from standing up for our rights. As leaders, we’re prepared for any outcome… until the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is implemented,” the KMPDU leader said.
Last week, Council of Governors (COG) chairperson Anne Waiguru empowered county governments to take disciplinary action against doctors who fail to resume work immediately.
But Atellah on Monday insisted they were prepared to “sacrifice everything” in their quest for better conditions of service for doctors. They are resisting pressure from the county authorities.
“There is no exception for Kirinyaga; the same rules apply across Kenya,” he declared. “We won’t stand by and watch the CBA being disregarded and distorted by the minister or governors.”
Several governors, including Nairobi’s Johnson Sakaja, had threatened action against the striking doctors. Despite a 12-hour ultimatum from Sakaja on March 21, the doctors remained resolute.
CS Nakhumicha had also warned of dismissals in a television interview on 20 March, saying: “Court orders have been issued to stop the strike; decisions have consequences.
Kenya’s public health system is facing a crisis amid an ongoing doctors’ strike, now in its nineteenth day.
Since March 14, doctors have halted services, demanding that the government address the deployment of junior doctors and honour the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Negotiations between the doctors’ union and the Ministry of Health have made no progress, with doctors accusing the government of failing to comply with court orders.