Reinstate Ksh206K Monthly Pay To Doctor Interns- Raila To Govt

Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga, pleaded with President William Ruto to reinstate the Ksh206,000 salary pay that intern doctors have been getting for the last seven years.

Raila was speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, April 11 as he broke his silence regarding the ongoing doctors' strike, which is nearing a month since it began. 

The ODM leader has asked the State to pay medical interns, look into the fees and salaries for doctors pursuing further studies and address the unprocedural termination of their services.

Regarding the salaries, Raila urged Ruto's government to reinstate the Ksh206,000 pay for interns until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiation, adding that during that next round of negotiations, both parties will put their cases on the table for consideration.

"For the last seven years, interns have been earning Ksh206,000 per month. These are actually the doctors running Level Four and many other public hospitals. 

"There is no way an employer can reduce the salaries of their employees midstream. That distorts everything in the life of the employee. I therefore ask the government to reinstate the Ksh206,000 pay for interns until the next CBA negotiations which are around the corner kick in," he pleaded.

Raila also called upon the Ministry of Health to engage the doctors and their learning institutions to clear the fee balances and enable the doctors to complete their studies.

"The ministry must also engage counties to resolve the issue of pay for doctors who have overstayed in college through mistakes, not of their making," he said.

"The ministry should also work out a plan for paying stipends to doctors who forgo county salaries and Ministry fees and privately fund their higher education while offering services in public hospitals. Such hustles should be supported."

He further called upon the Ministry to lay down the rules that ensure fair, respectful and sustainable labour practices by both the public and private health providers.

"Doctors are complaining about a free-for-all-all system where some employers have the free hand to decide what to pay. The result has been a very unequal system where doctors hired to do the same job experience huge variations in salaries. The medical profession is too important to be managed so casually. The ministry must intervene for the doctors," he added.

Odinga further advised the government to have a sit down with the Counties, to resolve the issue of pay for the doctors who have overstayed in colleges. 

Raila also addressed the issue surrounding the unprocedural termination of contracts, citing recent steps taken by various counties on striking county doctors.