Inside Doctors’ Return-to-Work Deal: Intern Posting Dispute Persists Despite Strike Ending
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Doctors Union (KMPDU) signed a return-to-work agreement on Wednesday, allowing doctors to resume their duties in public hospitals.
This announcement marked the end of 56 days of patient suffering. However, the agreement did not address the main dispute over the union’s demand for intern doctors to be paid Ksh206,000 per month.
KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah explained that the union and the government couldn’t agree on this demand as it was still being considered in court. Therefore, KMPDU chose to give lawyers time to resolve the issue legally.
“One of the key issues, which involves medical interns, remains unresolved because the matter is currently in court in Eldoret,” Atellah said.
It was agreed that lawyers would seek more time from the Labour Court to approve the return-to-work agreement before guiding the interns.
Meanwhile, the union instructed doctors to return to work 24 hours after the deal was made public.
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Atellah also stated that while the union was firm in demanding the fulfillment of all their requests, they agreed to the government’s promises based on assurances that the government would meet its commitments over time.
The Ministry of Health stated that a task force would be established to address outstanding issues and to improve human resources conditions for doctors.
“As part of the resolution, plans include reviewing staffing standards, enhancing HRH coordination through the Kenyan Health Human Resource Advisory Council, and forming an intergovernmental task force to tackle unresolved issues,” the Ministry of Health said.
A review of the working agreement showed that both national and county governments agreed to pay the doctors Ksh3.5 billion in overdue wages.
The government also agreed to clear the arrears from the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in five payments.
Additionally, the government agreed to provide doctors with comprehensive insurance coverage and implement other terms from the 2017 CBA.
Inside Doctors’ Return-to-Work Deal: Intern Posting Dispute Persists Despite Strike Ending