No end in sight as doctors maintain hard stance

There is still no light at the end of the tunnel after a five-hour meeting to end doctors' strike yesterday ended in a stalemate. As the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) are demanding nothing less than implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in 2013, the government yesterday is said to have tabled an offer that was unanimously rejected.

The offer was to see the highest paid doctor earn Sh450,000 while an intern pockets Sh180,000. This is away from what the doctors' demand in the CBA that if implemented will see the lowest paid doctor in Job Group L make Sh325,000 and the highest get Sh825,000.

The latest offer was a boost from an earlier one that was to see an intern doctor make Sh176,000 after being added Sh36,000 while medical officers had been added Sh42,000, which the government is said to have boosted to Sh50,000.

Yesterday KMPDU accused the government of 'not being serious' in the talks, saying that no doctor will be reporting to work until the CBA is implemented.

"It is them who signed the CBA. Why it is difficult for them to implement is a reason know themselves. What is clear and that both Kenyans and doctors should know is that the strike is still on," said KMPDU Secretary General Ouma Oluga.

But Labour Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie whose ministry is arbitrating in the matter indicated that though the government has finally agreed that is actually a legal CBA, and the courts did suspend the article on salaries.

"From a mediator point of view, there is a CBA that was signed but an article on salaries was suspended. So until the two parties (both county and national government and doctors union) agree, the CBA cannot be registered in court hence cannot be implemented," Ms Kandie said.

The CS said the talks that have been taking place since Tuesday have been targeted towards having the two parties' bridge the gap on the contentious Article Four on salaries.

"And the salaries agreed upon have to be 'accommodative' to the country's budget. Otherwise we are open to go on with the talks until we come to an acceptable conclusion by both parties," Kandie said.

According to sources, the union is said to have no problem with the newly offered salary structures. But they will only accept if suspension on the contentious Article Four is lifted.

However, if the suspension is lifted, then it means the 300 per cent salary demand becomes valid and the government will have no choice but to implement the CBA.

"The government has been denying that there is a CBA but now they agree otherwise. What we want is the CBA implemented both in full and in arrears," Mr Oluga said.

He added: "It is only the government that is not serious. We cannot have the biggest referral hospital in the country (Kenyatta National Hospital) completely shut and the government still reluctant."

The doctors' strike has been on for 13 days now. Last week, the government was forced to send Kenya Defense Forces doctors to KNH to attend to patients.