Win for intern doctors as DP Kindiki, KMPDU sign deal to call off nationwide strike

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on Thursday evening oversaw the signing of an agreement between doctors and the Ministry of Health that will now see the nationwide strike initially set for December 22, 2024 effectively called off.

The agreement, which was also signed by the Council of Governors (CoG), will see intern doctors paid a salary of Ksh.206,000 in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between the government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) in 2017.

KMPDU, led by Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah, also noted that it was agreed during the meeting that the basic salary arrears will be paid.

Dr. Atellah, when issuing the strike notice on December 3, expressed frustration over what he termed as neglect by the government in enacting the 2017 CBA.

"The national and county governments have totally disregarded our agreements. It is an extraordinary time when promises and agreements are not honored and mean nothing, a time when Collective Bargaining Agreement that has been honored and respected for over 7 years can be bastardized by one government directive," he stated then.

He further decried the government's contempt for court orders, particularly the judgment delivered on October 26, 2024, which validated the CBA on the remuneration package for medical interns.

"The doctor intern wages have been reduced by 70%, a situation unforeseen in workers history in this country and the world over. It is on the backdrop of these unfilled promises and impunity on our interns by both the national and county governments that the 10th KMPDU special delegate sitting on 30th November, 2024 ratified NAC decision for industrial action," stated Dr. Atellah.