Doctors’ strike over as KMPDU, Gov’t sign return-to-work formula

The long-standing doctors' strike has finally come to an end after 56 days as the government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) signed a return-to-work formula.

The agreement comes as a result of day and night meetings on Tuesday between KMPDU and the government through the Council of Governors (CoG) as well as the Ministry of Health.

KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah, speaking during a press address on Wednesday evening, said the union’s National Advisory Council had backed the resolutions that came out of the said meetings, hence precipitating the need to call off the strike.

Dr. Atellah, while noting that despite a host of their issues not being fully addressed, stated that doctors are expected to resume duty within the next 24 hours.

“Yesterday, we had a negotiation with the Council of Governors, and then we proceeded to have a whole night’s negotiation with the Ministry of Health. We had a very long meeting today with our National Advisory Council, that is the highest decision making organ, and they endorsed that we sign this particular return-to-work formula today for the doctors to resume work within 24 hours from now. And that means that the strike that began on March 13, 2024 has been called off,” he said.

“The government has there are different persons in office and that we need to believe in them, that they’re not conmen, and therefore we have decided that despite having said that we will not go home with promissory notes, we have decided to take the promise for the last time.”

The KMPDU boss pointed out that the highly contentious issue of posting and remuneration of intern doctors still remains unsolved, with the matter now left to the courts to handle.

He revealed that the union had entered a 60-day agreement with the government during which further talks on how to move forward with the medical interns’ grievances will be held.

“One of the fundamental issues, that is the matter of doctor interns was filed in court Eldoret, and has been part of the conversations but we could not come to a particular agreement. The union was of the opinion that the interns must be posted immediately as per the CBA, while government was of the opinion that we have to await the court litigation that is ongoing in Eldoret before we come to an agreement,” said Dr. Atellah.

“We have a joint caveat that is going on, and all the doctor interns – medical officers, pharmacists and dentists – will have to wait a little bit longer. We have agreed on a 60-day period that they will not be posted, but we will be having conversations on this issue.”

Health Cabinet Secretary Wafula Nakhumicha, on her part, commended the union’s leaders for their tough negotiating skills, as well as for eventually giving in and bringing an end to the near two month-long stalemate that caused a crisis in the country.

CS Nakhumicha said the return-to-work formula was reached after a meeting held at the Ministry of Health on Tuesday night that stretched into the wee hours of Wednesday.

“I want to give it to the doctors; I thought that I knew how to negotiate and bargain, but obviously, they have been very good at this – better than myself. On several occasions, we came close to the thought that we had arrived at a deal but it was not to be and we kept the country waiting. However, last night, we all found a place in our hearts to agree,” she said.

“There’s no denying that this strike has caused a lot of anxiety and pain among the public, especially at a time like now when we were accelerating access to Universal Health Coverage. Last night we left the Ministry of Health at 3am and the deal breaker was, is this a deal for execution or just for signing?”

She went ahead to state that the protracted strike has given the government a chance to look at and address the systemic issues plaguing the health sector that occasion the regular protests from medics.

To this end, CS Nakhumicha noted, a joint taskforce has since been set up alongside the Ministry of Education through CS Ezekiel Machogu to close the loopholes.

“This strike has given us an opportunity to introspect and look inwards to see what can be done better for health workers in this country. On Monday, my colleague CS Machogu and myself inaugurated a joint taskforce to look into the production of health workers, and within the next 90 days, the MOH will also review existing staffing norms and standards which were last published in 2016, and this will set forth the stage of us filling the gaps that have existed within the health sector,” she stated.

“The reforms that we’re undertaking are cognizant of the fact that health is a devolved function, with the HRH component shared between the two levels of government. We have agreed that we’re going to establish a presidential taskforce to look into the issues that affect the health sector.”