Doctors vow to continue with strike

Doctors have vowed to continue with the strike even as the Labour Court declared it illegal.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union’s secretary-general Ouma Oluga said the strike will go on.

Mr Oluga appeared in court with other health workers union leaders yesterday. He said that the decision by the Council of Governors to move to court to end the strike was premature and that talks are still going on.

“We want to tell Kenyans that the strike action is well considered. All the doctors are asking for is the implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” he said.

The sentiments came immediately after Labour Court judge Hellen Wasilwa described the health workers’ strike illegal.

Lady Justice Wasilwa directed health workers’ unions officials to call off the strike since it had paralysed hospitals and caused deaths.

She threatened not to hear the doctors’ case until the strike is called off.

“The doctors’ union and the Kenya National Union of Nurses leaders should order their members to report back to work,” the judge said.
The doctors and nurses strike started on December 5 and is in its second week.

The Council of Governors went to court and obtained orders stopping the strike on December 2 after the doctors had the 21-day strike notice.

The health workers, however, claimed that they were never served with the case documents or order. The judge asked the union leaders to appear before her yesterday to explain why they should not be punished for being in contempt of court by asking their members to the strike.

She had also earlier asked the Kilimani police boss to help the court serve the order.

DEMANDING PAY RAISE

Last week, the government offered a Sh50,000 increase to the lowest paid doctors, which would have raised their salaries to Sh176,000, but unions rejected it and walked out of the talks.

According to the doctors, a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the government that was signed in 2013 is yet to be implemented.

Doctors want a 300 per cent pay increase while nurses are demanding a raise of 25 to 40 per cent, as well as allowances.

Nurses’ union officials also held talks with the government over salary increment and harmonisation of their grading scales.

Nurses’ union secretary-general Seth Panyako indicated that nurses had finalised talks with the government but the strike could not be called off until its top organ endorses the agreement to be signed on December 14.

In the suit, Council of Governors argued that the nurses had not attempted reconciliation nor registered any dispute before calling the strike and accused them of illegally paralysing services with an ulterior motive.

Both unions have faulted a job evaluation report by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission for failing to indicate what they should earn.

The judge directed parties in the case to appear in court next Monday, December 19, for further directions.