The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has issued a 30-day strike notice over what they term the government’s failure to honour their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
KMPDU Secretary General Dr Davji Atellah stated in a press conference on Monday that they signed a CBA with County and National governments in 2017, which has since been forgotten.
On the contrary, the government has not promoted doctors, hired new medics, or provided doctors with medical equipment as agreed in the CBA.
“We see extreme shortage of doctors, there are no specialists. We have over 5000 doctors who have not been employed,” KMPDU said.
As a result, the doctors said they will down their tools in January 2023 if their concerns are not addressed immediately.
“We have written letters trying to have actions from National and County governments. By the time we have given notice of intend of industrial action, we have exhausted all the available avenues. An agreement that has been signed by the state has to be honoured,” they said.
KMPDU now demands that a Health Service Commission be established within 100 days and that doctors working under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program be hired on permanent and pensionable terms.
