Health Ministry posts first batch of 874 interns to public hospitals
The Ministry of Health has started posting the first batch of 874 medical interns to public hospitals.
The Ministry of Health has started posting the first batch of 874 medical interns to public hospitals.
This comes after the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) last year threatened industrial action while accusing the government of failing to honour a July 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In response, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha issued the directive a fortnight ago following what the Health ministry described as a constructive dialogue with the leadership of KMPDU and the Council of Governors (COG).
“On December 30 last year, we met and agreed with KMPDU on the modalities of posting over 800 interns. Today I am pleased to announce that this process has commenced.”
“The interns form a core part of our health service delivery team and we will support them to serve and learn,” Ms Nakhumicha said.
“ We also agreed on the modalities that allow for the posting of over 800 medical interns to various facilities in January 2023. This positive outcome is as a result of constructive dialogue and I am confident that all pending issues can be similarly resolved, through dialogue,” she added.
According to the Health Ministry, during the meeting with KMPDU officials and CoG committees on Health and Labour at the beginning of the year, various pending issues that cut across both levels of government were discussed and the road map towards their resolutions was established.
Strike called off
The meeting is what saw KMPDU last week call off the nationwide strike it had last month scheduled for January 6.
While addressing journalists in Nairobi, KMPDU Secretary-General Davji Bhimji Atellah confirmed that the strike notice the union had put in place had been withdrawn.
“Today, we communicate the union’s decision to suspend the intended strike on condition that the engagement we have had over the last two weeks is entered as consent before a court of law and the government compelled to fulfil within the timelines as they have promised 60 days.”
Dr Atellah added that, a month ago, they gave a 30-day notice of intention to strike over the non-implementation of the 2017-2021 CBA.
The doctors had at the time listed a number of grievances including basic salary adjustments, creation of call rooms, posting of medical interns, employment of more doctors and provision of working tools.
“It is now five years since KMPDU signed the CBA with the Ministry of Health, each of the 47 county governments, MOG affiliated [semi-autonomous government agencies] and the universities teaching medicine, pharmacy and dentistry.
“This agreement was born out of a protracted and painful period for Kenyans now known as the 100 days doctors strike,” Dr Atellah said adding that the union does not intend in any way to take Kenyans back to that pain and frustration.
“ We acknowledge the efforts shown by President William Samoei Ruto, the Ministry of Health and particularly [Ms] Nakhumicha, who undertook to post all interns as of next week and committed to the payment of post-graduate fees as well as the Council of Governors through the Labour and Health Committees who pledged to engage with the union in a bid to resolve the very issues, including employment of doctors across the country.”
