Doctors planned strike to coincide with festivities
Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists' Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah.
What you need to know:
- The end of the strike on May 8 came after the officials of the union, which has more than 7,000 members, reached an agreement with the government.
A major health crisis is imminent unless the government can resolve doctors’ pay grievances within the next 21 days and avert a planned strike.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) yesterday gave notice of the strike, raising fears of widespread disruption in the healthcare system during the festive season, a period marked by heightened medical demands.
The impending strike, set to begin on December 22, comes less than a year after the union’s previous nationwide industrial action that lasted 56 days. The strike paralysed operations in public hospitals across the country with dozens of individuals losing their loved ones or having to pay out of pocket to get medical services from privately owned facilities.
The end of the strike on May 8 came after the officials of the union, which has more than 7,000 members, reached an agreement with the government.
During the 56-day strike, access to medical care had become a luxury, with overwhelmed private facilities unable to accommodate the surge of patients. Meanwhile, the public health sector—which caters to a significant portion of Kenya’s population—was paralysed. This was at a time when floods and heavy rainfall had rendered tens of thousands homeless, exacerbating health vulnerabilities such as malaria and respiratory illnesses.
Yesterday, KMPDU leaders expressed their frustrations with the national and county governments, accusing them of not honouring the signed return-to work formula.
“It is an extraordinary time when promises and agreements are not honoured and mean nothing, a time when a collective bargaining agreement that has been honoured and respected for over seven years can be bastardised by one government directive. A time when governors can appear in media and boldly proclaim that they shall not comply with the agreement and affirm that they only signed the agreement to trick doctors back to work,” lamented Dr Davji Atellah, the union’s secretary-general.
The officials painted a grim picture of Kenya’s health sector, characterised by underfunding, staff shortages and widespread discontent among medical professionals. One of the union’s primary grievances is the delayed and reduced payments to healthcare workers, especially interns and registrars. According to KMPDU, intern doctors who form the backbone of hospital operations have been working without pay for months.
“We have lost five doctors in the last two months due to work- stress hardships and lack of responsive insurance cover,” Dr Atellah said. “ While the public is grossly suffering from poor medical care from the public facilities, coupled with inadequate medical supplies, the medical workers are fewer and overworked.”
In response to the government’s recent announcement on releasing funds to pay medical workers’ salaries, Dr Abdi Adow, an intern at Mbagathi Level 5 Hospital, expressed frustration, stating that the funds had yet to reach the recipients.
“Actually, we have not received anything in our accounts so we don’t know anything, but what they are supposed or purporting to be is equivalent to one month, but we have worked for four months. So, in short, they still owe us three months’ salary down the line,” he said.
In response to this neglect, KMPDU convened its 10th Special Delegates Conference on November 30, where the union unanimously ratified a decision to strike. It issued a 21-day notice, demanding the immediate implementation of key agreements.
Among these are payment of all salary arrears owed to interns and registrars, restoration of full salaries for all doctors, provision of medical insurance for healthcare workers and improved resourcing of public hospitals.
“If these demands are not met by December 22, we have no choice but to proceed with industrial action,” said the union, adding that no court will compel them to end their strike unless the government acts.
“A sick doctor is a tragedy in waiting. You will pray your way to that theatre table, but a doctor who is not mentally in that place can’t save your life,” added Dr Dennis Miskellah, KMPDU’s deputy secretary-general.
The Ministry of Health had yet to issue a response to the union’s ultimatum by the time of publication.
