Raila Odinga Meets with KMPDU Officials Days After Doctors Called Off Strike
Raila Odinga, the leader of the Azimio movement, held a meeting today with officials from the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
Raila announced on his social media account on Saturday that the KMPDU officials had paid him a visit as a gesture of respect.
He expressed his support for the union, recognizing the return-to-work agreement as a positive step for both the government and KMPDU.
“I express my solidarity with the union and urge the government to meet them halfway to resolve the remaining issues,” he stated.
This meeting occurred shortly after the KMPDU ended the doctors’ strike, which had lasted for 56 days.
The union formally agreed to the terms of the return-to-work agreement on May 8th.
However, Raila expressed disappointment on Thursday, lamenting that the agreement was reached at the expense of public suffering that could have been avoided.
He congratulated the Kenya Dentists and Medical Practitioners Union for successfully negotiating with the government to reach the return-to-work agreement.
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Raila emphasized the importance of both parties honoring their commitments.
“Now, each side must fulfill its obligations. The government must promptly implement its promises to demonstrate that it has learned from past mistakes of inflexibility and failure to abide by agreements and court decisions,” he emphasized.
“Similarly, healthcare workers must uphold their end of the agreement.”
Raila warned that he would not hesitate to hold parties accountable if they breached the agreement.
Following the signing of the return-to-work agreement, the KMPDU’s secretary general, Davji Atellah, confirmed the end of the doctors’ strike.
He mentioned that the government had urged doctors to trust them.
“We have decided to trust the government one final time, although some key issues concerning doctor interns remain unresolved,” he remarked.
Atellah reassured doctors that the union would always strive to defend their rights.
As part of the resolution, there are plans to reassess staffing norms and standards, improve coordination of human resources for health through the Kenyan Health Human Resource Advisory Council, and establish a task force between government levels to address outstanding issues.
Raila Odinga Meets with KMPDU Officials Days After Doctors Called Off Strike