Kenya’s Health Ministry Set To Follow 2017 CBA When Posting Doctors After Talks
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has resumed talks with the Ministry of Health.
According to the Union, ongoing discussions focus on several outstanding issues, including delayed intern postings, the implementation of a return-to-work formula, and the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary (PS) Mary Muriuki reposted a tweet from the union featuring photos of attendees, including KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah.
The government has yet to honour an agreement made in the May 8th return-to-work formula, which included the deployment of 1,210 interns.
ONGOING 🌱 Discussions on the delayed Intern Postings and Return To Work Formula: #KMPDU Leaders Engage with the Ministry of Health Regarding the Prospects of Implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement #InternPostings#CBA2017 #MoH pic.twitter.com/7WmERxESH4
— KMPDU (@kmpdu) July 17, 2024
Before the cabinet was dissolved, immediate former Health CS Susan Nakhumicha stated that with the allocated funds, the Ministry could only hire at least 552 interns immediately.
The agitated medical interns camped out at Afya House last week, expressing their dissatisfaction with years of waiting for their official posting after completing their studies.
They also threatened to resume a day sit-in and night vigil on Monday, July 15, 2024, this week.
“We proposed that the posting of the next cohort be done by mid-June even as we continue to find mutually agreeable Terms of Service both in and out of court,” said KMPDU in a statement.
They must complete the internship before they can be licensed to practice medicine.
Other contentious issues included promotions, which the ministry promised would go to those who deserved them, as well as creating staffing policies that would result in the hiring of 2,000 doctors per year.
The Ministry agreed to fully implement the 2017 CBA before beginning a new CBA negotiation, with county governments following suit.
Kenya’s Health Ministry Set To Follow 2017 CBA When Posting Doctors After Talks
