Medics have no legal CBA with ministry

Doctors have been on strike for over two months now. The bone of contention is the failure by the Government to implement a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) they signed in 2013.

The strike has resulted in the brief jailing of Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU) top officials for contempt of court.

Attempts by various players including COTU and KNCHR to bring parties to a negotiated settlement have not borne any fruit. The failure to negotiate successfully due to the hard-line stance adopted by the doctors and the cavalier way the Ministry of Health has treated the matter saw COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli withdraw from the talks. The ministry and the doctors are both to blame for this crisis. The CBA was negotiated and signed by both parties in 2013. According to Article 60 (1) of the Labour Relations Act, every CBA shall be submitted to the Industrial Court for registration within 14 days of its conclusion.

Sub Section (2) says that the employer or employers’ organisation which is party to the CBA shall submit the agreement for registration.

If the employer for any mischievous reason doesn’t submit the signed CBA by the end of the 14-day window, the union under Article 60(3) is allowed to submit it for registration. KMPDU should have submitted the CBA to the Industrial Court for registration. The unions’ officials slept on the job. Legally speaking, the CBA does not exist any more after the expiry of the 14 days. The Ministry of Health negotiated for the CBA in bad faith. That is why they failed to submit it for registration.

It was, therefore, surprising that the union officials were criticising Atwoli for stepping out of the negotiations. The COTU boss is knowledgeable and widely experienced in matters labour. He understands the rules, principles and traditions governing CBA negotiations.