Rx for Relief: Doctors Strike Comes to an End
Kenya’s public hospital doctors have signed a return-to-work agreement with the government, bringing to an end a labour boycott that had persisted since mid-March.
The labour boycott, which has left services in public hospitals paralysed, left many citizens in limbo as hospitals struggled to cope with the absence of doctors.
Dr Davji Atellah, the Secretary General KPMDU expressed the doctor’s willingness to trust the government’s commitment to addressing the labour issues that occasioned the strike.
Among the key concerns was a call to address poor remuneration as well as improve their working conditions, a long-running cry between medics and the government.
The move to sign the return-to-work agreement was prompted by a directive from the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which had given both parties a 48-hour deadline to strike an agreement.
Failure to comply with the Court’s directive would have invited the Judge’s intervention to solve the industrial dispute. Health CS Susan Nakumincha acknowledged the doctors’ negotiating stance, admitting that they had been more adept negotiators than the government side.
She remarked that the doctors had “put up quite a fight” in advocating for their demands, signaling the intensity of the talks that led to the labour services agreement.
The end of the strike comes as a huge relief comes as a welcome relief to millions of Kenyans reliant on public healthcare services, which had been severely compromised during the strike period.
Read also: Doctors reject Sh2.4Bn offer as strike enters third week
