Honour state agreements with doctors

Doctors strike. [File, Standard]

Yet again, doctors across the country have threatened to call a nationwide strike over unpaid arrears and unfulfilled return-to-work agreements.

The level of mistrust between the government and doctors, and the rising spectre of industrial action threats in many sectors of the economy, bodes ill for the country.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union has raised legitimate grievances. Doctors have gone nearly a decade without a salary increment since the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The government has failed to employ 2,000 doctors as committed in a 2024 return-to-work formula. Sh1.75 billion in arrears, already released to counties in July last year, remains unpaid. These are not new demands simply plucked out of thin air. They are documented obligations the government willingly signed and has since chosen to ignore.

That, to say the truth, is unacceptable. Collective bargaining agreements are not suggestions. They are legally binding instruments, arrived at through structured negotiation and signed in good faith by both parties. When the government treats them as optional, it inconveniences doctors and corrodes the very foundation of labour relations in this country. If the state can dishonour agreements it signs, then no worker should be blamed for not trusting the negotiation process.

The health sector has endured too much disruption in recent years. The Social Health Authority has already failed Kenyans in profound ways, leaving millions without reliable healthcare financing. A nationwide doctors' strike, added to that failure, would be catastrophic for ordinary citizens who depend entirely on public hospitals.

The government must, therefore, honour its commitments without further delay. Pay the outstanding arrears. Employ the promised doctors and conclude CBA negotiations within the agreed time frame. These are basic contractual obligations.

At the same time, however, doctors must also read the room. The economy is under severe strain, buffeted by both domestic mismanagement and hostile global conditions. All Kenyans feel the pinch. All workers deserve salary rises, and a 55 per cent increment demand, however justified in principle, requires careful timing and measured escalation. Striking should remain the very last resort, not the first instinct.