Suspend Doctors' Strike, Engage CS Nakhumicha- Ruto CS To KMPDU
Bore called upon the doctors to respect a court order that halted the strike at the eleventh hour and directed a conciliation committee between the government and the doctors’ unions.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore has called on the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU) to consider reinitiating dialogue with the Ministry of Health in a bid to end the doctors' strike.
In a statement on Friday, April 12, Bore called upon the doctors to respect a court order that halted the strike at the eleventh hour and directed a conciliation committee between the government and the doctors’ unions.
She called upon both parties to work together to resolve the issues that triggered the strike in the first place, a matter she expressed ought to be expedited as soon as possible.
Labour and Social Welfare Cabinet nominee Florence Bore before the Appointments vetting committee in October 2022. /STANDARD DIGITAL
“The Employment and Labour Relations Court has given interim orders and parties must obey the orders. The Head of Public Service has taken action in complying with the orders and so must everyone else. The Court also directed the Conciliation Committee to continue with its work to assist parties in finding minimum safety service during industrial action.
“Parties should co-operate and act in good faith to find a settlement to these issues. The resolution of this dispute and a lasting solution can only be found through Social Dialogue and the sooner parties realize this the better,” read the statement in part.
The Labour CS pleaded with the doctors' union to suspend the ongoing strike to allow for negotiations to take place between the union and the government.
“Labour Relations Act, 2007 provides that where parties have a difference, they may subject this through a dispute resolution mechanism. The doctors' union must therefore suspend the strike and come to the table to negotiate with the employers, that is, the Ministry of Health and the 47 County Governments.
"The Union needs to direct its members to get back to work, to pave the way for meaningful negotiations to take place to find a lasting resolution,” Bore added.
The doctors’ strike entered its fourth week on Monday with KMPDU demanding the government to implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) conceived in 2017 and medical interns to be posted to hospitals.
The doctors signed a contentious Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Ministry of Health on June 30, 2017. The CBA states that the lowest monthly salary for a doctor intern stands at Ksh212,000, inclusive of allowances.
On Thursday, April 11, 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.
"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 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 added.
