We’ll only pay you for days at work, Nyeri County tells medics
Nyeri Health Executive Charles Githinji, who has insisted that the county government won't pay doctors for the three months they were on strike. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- More than 400 doctors from four central region counties have vowed to down their tools Thursday.
- But Dr Githinji denied receiving any notice on the planned strike.
- The doctors lamented that they can no longer afford basic needs because they have no money
The Nyeri County government has vowed not to pay doctors for the 100 days they were on strike even as they threatened to boycott work on Thursday.
According to county Health Executive Charles Githinji, who is also the acting Finance executive, the return-to-work formula the doctors signed did not indicate that they were to be paid for days they were on strike.
“The position of the national government, the Council of Governors, and the county government is that we can only pay for work done. It is illegal for them to demand pay for days they did not work,” he said.
For three months, services in public hospitals were paralysed leading to hundreds of deaths and agony for patients who could not afford private health care.
CENTRAL REGION STRIKE
More than 400 doctors from four central region counties have vowed to down their tools Thursday if they do not get their three-month salary arrears.
But Dr Githinji denied receiving any notice on the planned strike, saying the doctors have to follow the right procedure.
“No one has notified me of any strike and any action they choose to take without following the right procedures will be sorted in a legal way,” he said.
He said the doctors were to serve the county with a notice 21 days ago to give room for dialogue.
According to central region Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, Secretary-General Gor Goody, the government has no goodwill to address their salary issue, insisting that it had failed to implement the return-to-work formula.
CAN'T AFFORD BASICS
The doctors lamented that they can no longer afford basic needs because they have no money after missing pay for three months.
But Dr Githinji downplayed the claim, saying it is clear that the return-to-work formula did not say they were to be paid for days they did not work.
“No clause in the return-to-work agreement indicates the employer would pay for days the doctors were on strike. It (only) clearly states that the employer would not victimize the doctors who participated in the strike,” he said.
He added that the doctors will be paid for work done since March 14, when they resumed duty.
On average, a doctor receives Sh180,000 per month, according to Dr Githinji.
