NAIROBI Kenya, Feb 12 – The doctors at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret have called off their seven-day strike after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) signed a deal with the hospital management.
The doctors at the facility had downed their tools last week, citing failure by the hospital’s management to address their grievances and implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The hospital management, led by CEO Phillip Kirwa, signed a return-to-work formula with KMPDU led by Secretary General Davji Atellah on Tuesday, ending the strike.
Atellah called off the strike and asked the doctors to resume work within 24 hours.
“We are happy that our strike, which has lasted for about six days, was not in vain and the issues we were asking for have been achieved,” Atellah stated.
Atellah said the Treasury had agreed to release funding, which would lead to immediate and full implementation of the demand by doctors.
He said the issues which led to the strike have been resolved, further that the agreement was made in good faith and will be fully implemented.
He added that the agreement will see all eligible doctors with over one year of service converted to permanent and pensionable terms by April 30, 2025 scraping off the contract.
He added that a joint committee will oversee the implementation of pending payments based on the SRC job evaluation.
“Every doctor is now covered under a comprehensive medical plan and also doctors who applied for competitive positions will receive their promotions immediately, with implementation in the February pay slip. Going forward, promotions will be conducted annually,” said Atellah.
MTRH CEO Kirwa said they were happy with the deal ending the strike adding that the services at the hospital would resume as usual.
“We are back to full operations and assure our clients of quality services as usual,” said Kirwa.
He said the hospital was committed to effective service delivery to Kenyans, hence the quick action to end the strike as quickly as possible.
