MTRH signs new CBA with Doctors union

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Eldoret has signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with Kenya Medical Pharmacists and Dentist Union, KMPDU.
The signing of the new agreement would see the hospitals wage bill increase by more than Sh317million annually when implemented.
KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Ouma Oluga signed the CBA on behalf of the union while MTRH was represented by it chief executive officer Dr. Wilson K Aruasa.
Dr. Oluga said the CBA was the first ever to be signed between KMPDU and MTRH, “It is also the first CBA to be signed without a strike here in Kenya,” said the Secretary General.
Apart from looking into the salaries and allowances for the doctors, the new agreement will also see MTRH construct doctors’ rooms and lactating rooms for breastfeeding mothers. It also requires MTRH to offer training for doctors so as to have more specialized doctors at the facility.
The CBA now awaits to be taken to the Labor Relations Court for registration and tabling in Parliament for ratification.
“We have negotiated this CBA for the last five years and I can say today we have made a major milestone in making our health sector better especially for this hospital,” said Dr. Oluga.
Dr. Oluga said after the signing of the CBA, they now wait for the hardest part, implementation, where most disagreements arise.
“We trust MTRH that the implementation will be instant and we pledge to support the success of the referral hospital,” he said.
“With this CBA, we assure you that we are not going to experience any strike in the next four years,” he added.
Dr. Aruasa said that the CBA was the best way to cement the good relationship they have enjoyed with KMPDU.
“We have worked together for the last seven years and this is the best way to show that we will always work together,” he said adding that the CBA would cover all doctors in the facility.
KMPDU chairman Dr. Samuel Oroko said that the signed CBA does not necessarily mean money but to cater for the welfare of the doctors and improve their work conditions.
The meeting, held at the Chandaria Cancer and Chronic Diseases Centre at MTRH, also had representatives from Uasin Gishu county government, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Labour.
By Nathan Sialah/Shamim Aziz/Caleb Omwama