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<\/a><\/p>\nLillian Onyango and John Ngirachu<\/p>\n
12 December 2011<\/p>\n
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Doctors in Kenya on Monday evening called off their strike following a deal with the government.<\/p>\n
The agreement with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) entails a salary increase, which will be effected in two phases, with the first coming into effect this month and the other in July next year.<\/p>\n
Details of the government’s offer could not be immediately ascertained on Monday night.<\/p>\n
The government also promised to set up a taskforce, comprising six doctors and six government representatives in a week’s time to look into the health practitioners’ grievances.<\/p>\n
The taskforce is expected to present a report to the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in 11 days.<\/p>\n
The deal was thrashed out in a closed-door meeting attended by Ministry of Health officials and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta from 3pm until late in the evening.<\/p>\n
Union secretary-general Boniface Chitayi said the government also committed itself to making available Sh200 million for training and Sh85 to settle debts, Sh54 million for medical personnel currently in training and a further Sh61 million for other training needs.<\/p>\n
“Emergency call allowances will also be made available with immediate effect,” Dr Chitayi said.<\/p>\n
The government will also hire 200 new doctors to ease the load on the over-stretched team at the public hospitals. “The parties have agreed to negotiate in good faith,” Dr Chitayi said.<\/p>\n
“This agreement also nullifies any form of victimisation for the doctors,” the union boss added.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Monday, President Kibaki had directed Public Service Minister Dalmas Otieno to find a solution to the strike, which has disrupted services at hospitals across Kenya.<\/p>\n
President Kibaki issued the directive in his Jamhuri Day address. He asked Mr Otieno to work with “all those involved” in finding a solution to the one-week-old strike.<\/p>\n
“We need doctors in the hospitals to attend to the many Kenyans needing medical attention on daily basis. I direct the Minister for Public Service and all those involve in finding a solution,” he said.<\/p>\n
Strikes are handled by the Labour ministry, the workers’ unions involved and the Judiciary, whose industrial division would also handle related court cases.<\/p>\n
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga urged the striking doctors and pharmacists to return to work pending negotiations.<\/p>\n
Mr Odinga asked doctors to sit at the negotiating table and “talk as Kenyans”, an allusion for them to consider the current economic circumstances.<\/p>\n
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