Cuban doctors head to work after court clears pathway

What you need to know:

  • Judge faults government for not involving the public in the hiring of the foreign medics and failing to advertise for the jobs locally.

  • Cuban doctors arrived in the country earlier this month.

  • Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki signed the contract to bring the 100 medical specialists to Kenya in April.

The Labour Relations Court has dismissed two cases challenging the hiring of Cuban doctors by the national government.

Justice Onesmus Makau ruled that the Kenyan doctors who filed the case had failed to provide enough evidence to prove that the hiring of foreign doctors violated principles of national governance.

The petitioners had accused the government of lying that the country has a shortage of medical specialists and hence the need to hire Cuban doctors.

“Assuming that there are Kenyans with skills of the specialised Cuban doctors, statistics exhibited are enough proof that this breed of specialised doctors are urgently needed upcountry where even younger Kenyan doctors do not prefer to work,” said Justice Makau.

 The judge said the petitioners did not show in a schedule, which was tabled before court that unemployed Kenyan doctors possess the same skills as the contracted Cuban medics.

SPECIALISED DOCTORS

 He pointed out that the schedule only indicated that there are 171 specialised doctors out of 1,683 unemployed medics.

 “Petitioners have not proved that indeed there are enough doctors with skills which the Cuban ones have, I therefore decline to issue an order freezing their hiring,” ruled Justice Makau.

But the judge criticised the government for failing to involve the public in the hiring of the foreign doctors and advertising the jobs.

For instance, he noted, the government did not invite the doctors’ union to give its views before hiring their Cuban colleagues.

However, the Kenya Medical Association insisted that the hiring was done contrary to international standards, saying the discussion would continue in other forums.

TRANSPARENT

“It is difficult to protest against the government but the issue that has become transparent is that Kenyans have been locked out of employment and with that decision, harmony between the local and foreign doctors has not yet been addressed,” KMA officials said outside court.

Cuban specialist doctors arrived in the country two weeks ago.

They include three radiologists, five nephrologists, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons and neurologists.

Their pay will be based on the Civil Service Job group ‘S’ under the structure provided by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.