Embu County doctors to down tools at midnight

Embu County doctors under the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) have threatened to kick off their strike from midnight.

The medics strike is likely to cause a health crisis at health facilities within the county as doctors continue to decry poor working conditions.

The move comes after the lapse of a 21-days strike notice issued to the county government for failing to implement a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on crosscutting issues including job stagnation, shortage of doctors, non-remittance of statutory deductions and denial of study leave.

Eastern region KMPDU Chairman Dr. Dennis Mugambi said despite giving the strike notice, no action had been taken by their employer, leaving them with no option than to institute an industrial action.

“As Embu doctors, we have tried negations with our employer but they ignored us, so starting tonight we will down our tools and we are advising Embu residents with  patients admitted in various hospitals across the county to have plans to transfer them and seek services elsewhere,” Dr. Mugambi said in a press address on Tuesday.

He said the doctors will not report to their respectful stations, adding that if the issues they have raised will not have been addressed, then they will continue for as long as it takes to have their grievances addressed.

Dr. Mugambi added that for the last ten years, majority of the doctors in Embu County had stagnated in one job group without promotions, thus contravening the signed 2017-2021 CBA between the county government and KMPDU.

“We demand immediate promotion and re-designation of all affected officers to their rightful job groups, along with the payment of corresponding arrears,” he stated.

He added that there is also severe shortage of doctors, particularly at Embu Level Five Hospital, which has negatively impacted the quality of healthcare provided to the citizens.

“We have less than a 100 doctors in Embu and about 300 more need to be hired to effectively take care of the health care needs of all residents,” Dr. Mugambi noted.

Additionally, the Eastern KMPDU Chair said the county had not remitted their statutory deductions to relevant institutions including bank loans, Sacco contributions insurance premiums, PAYE and HELB loans for close to six months’ despite being captured in their pay slips.

“Most of our member have been blacklisted in Credit Reference Bureaus (CRB) for defaulting on loan repayments while others are on the verge of having their property auctioned by lenders,” said Danson Gitari, a Consultant Physician at Embu Level Five Hospital.

Gitari also said they had also been denied study leave to pursue further studies to sharpen their skills against the established CBA agreement.

The doctors nonetheless expressed willingness for an open and constructive dialogue with the county government to find a lasting solution to these grievances.

The 21-day strike notice was issued on December 21, 2023 by KMPDU National Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah, accusing the Embu County government of failing to address the medics’ concerns.

“Our members' career stagnation for the past decade is in clear violation of these agreements. We demand the immediate promotion and re-designation of all affected officers to their rightful job groups, along with the payment of corresponding arrears,” stated Dr. Atellah in the notice.

“The employment of doctors under ambiguous contract terms that do not align with established guidelines, particularly the non-provision of gratuity payment, is unacceptable. We demand the conversion of these doctors to permanent and pensionable terms as stipulated in the CBA and relevant circulars. We also insist on the promotion of these officers to their rightful job groups and the payment of all owed gratuity and arrears.”