Kitui doctors down tools after 14-day strike notice lapses

Doctors in Kitui County have began their strike after a 14-day notice they issued late last month ended on February 7, 2024.

The strike notice was issued by the doctors’ umbrella body the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) following a meeting to address their grievances on January 24, 2024.

They complained of lasbour exploitation, citing what they termed as years of unbearable staff shortages, burnout, career stagnation, as well as demotivation following stalled promotions.

The medics also decried denial of postgraduate study leaves and continuous empty rhetoric and failed promises to resolve their issues by the county government.

“We must admit that the plan to frustrate and mistreat doctors to the brink of depression can no longer be taken as business as usual and it must be put to a halt. The 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Employment Act, and all labour laws must be adhered to,” noted KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah.

“A crocodile infested river cannot be easily crossed by an individual and as a group we urge all doctors to be our brothers' and sisters' keepers in maintaining the dignity of our profession and pushing back against all forms of labour injustices.”

The KMPDU boss went ahead to state that the strike by doctors stationed in Kitui County effectively began on Thursday midnight after talks between the union and the county government to address the pending grievances collapsed.