State House officials are set to convene with doctors and other stakeholders in the health sector today to address the ongoing strike by doctors and medical professionals.
The doctors’ demands include the immediate deployment of medical interns and the clearance of salary arrears as per the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The strike is currently entering its eighth day with most operations in major public hospitals grinding to a halt.
The calls for a meeting came to light during a court session where Kenyatta National Hospital sued the doctors union to end the ongoing strike initiated last week.
Justice Byram Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi had previously instructed the parties to negotiate and determine the essential services to be maintained during the strike to prevent patient suffering.
The reconciliation committee, tasked with resolving the doctors’ grievances, had made minimal progress in last week’s discussions.
During Wednesday’s court session, Kenyatta National Hospital informed the court of the incomplete attendance at Tuesday’s meeting and scheduled further talks for Thursday.
State counsel Oscar Eredi revealed that Head of Public Service Felix Koskei had called for a meeting at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre to address unresolved issues from the reconciliation committee’s meeting.
The meeting, which involves various stakeholders including cabinet secretaries, the doctors’ union, and county governments, aims to address perennial disputes in the health sector.
Eredi emphasized that the government has honored previous agreements and is currently negotiating the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for 2021-2025.
Lawyer Edgar Washika, representing the doctors’ union, expressed readiness to attend both meetings convened by the Head of Public Service.
Justice Ongaya scheduled a mention of the matter on April 3 to monitor the progress of the discussions.
