Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU) Nyanza Chapter on Tuesday signed a return to work agreement in line with the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which prioritized promotion of various cadres of medical staff in Kisumu County.
The much-anticipated exercise followed a three days’ strike which commenced on Friday June 21, 2019 in Kisumu that brought service delivery in all public health facilities to a standstill.
Prolonged negotiations between the KMPDU team was spearheaded by the Union’s Chairman, Dr. Kevin Osuri and Kisumu County Executive Committee (CEC) for Health, Nerry Achar who burnt the midnight oil to reach a consensus.
This week has come with a sigh of relief to both sides who warmed up to each other bragging over the magic wand they used to soften the hearts of the once vicious opponents who vowed never to budge an inch under whatever circumstances.
Speaking during an earlier press briefing, Dr. Osuri revealed that KMPDU had reached an agreement with the County Government over the four key issues raised when they issued a strike notice on June 14, 2019.
But today, the Chairman changed tune arguing that he had no reason to doubt whether the County Government would not honour their side of the bargain, while calling on all doctors to return to their places of work with immediate effect after the two sides put pen to paper.
Following the signing, Dr. Osuri assured that all the demands for promotions for doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and other medical staff have been settled. The signing ceremony was also attended by the County Secretary, Dr. Olangó Onudi.
The Union has also negotiated for the release of doctors on study leave, comprehensive NHIF coverage and remittance of statutory deductions to relevant bodies.
“We have been able to negotiate and we have reached an agreement with the County Government and for that reason, we have no reason not to trust the Government at this point,” said Dr. Osuri.
By Joseph Ouma/Cynthia Owiti
