Deal in sight for striking Nairobi medics as union meets county reps

Nairobi health workers have agreed to end their strike as soon as the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and the county meet their irreducible minimums.

This follows a meeting of the officials, the NMS and county representatives on Monday.

Thuranira Kaugiria, the Nairobi secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), said they will return to work if the County Public Service Board and the NMS provides a comprehensive insurance cover for doctors under the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and give a waiver on promotions.

"We are ready to call off the strike but for that to happen our bare minimums  must be met. Most of these issues are actionable and can be done away with immediately," said Mr Kaugiria.

"Unless doctors are covered by insurance and a waiver is issued on promotions, the strike will go on," he told journalists at the Nairobi County Assembly after a meeting chaired by Majority Leader Abdi Guyo on Monday.

Medical cover

NMS Deputy Director-General Robinson Thuku said talks with the NHIF on the comprehensive medical cover were on and that a solution will have been reached by the end of this month.

"It is work in progress as we have received a proposal from NHIF. We have already engaged our human resource department to look into what is needed," said Mr Thuku.

The board promised to write a letter to the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Tuesday regarding the promotions waiver.

The board noted its commitment to a resolution, saying it had already promoted 100 out of 320 doctors.

"The remaining are doctors who need to be promoted through a competitive process as they need to progress through established cadres," said acting chair Thomas Kasoa. 

Repeat strike

The health workers have been on strike since August 21, in yet another protest against poor terms of service. The medical cover and promotion issues are among eight they have raised.

In January, City Hall promoted 6,720 county workers, 2,554 of them drawn from the health sector. Among those promoted in the health sector were 100 doctors leaving 220 doctors.

"What we want are rightful promotions and not only for a certain cadre. Let people be promoted equally depending on their papers," said Mr Kaugiria.

The union also wants the county board to reinstate five specialists at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, who were struck off the payroll following investigations by the DCI, which cleared them over a year ago.

Mr Kaugiria complained that even after the said clearance and despite writing four letters to City Hall on the issue, no action has been taken.

Acting County Secretary Justus Kathenge, however, said the county is carrying out investigations to establish how the specialists were employed by the county.

They will be readmitted and their 26-month dues cleared, he said.

A follow-up meeting of the doctors’ and county officials will take place on Tuesday.