Migori doctors issue strike notice over delayed pay

 

Doctors in Migori have issued a strike notice to protest delayed salaries and non-implementation of their collective bargaining agreement.

The doctors are yet to receive their September salaries.

The medics said they will down their tools from November 23 if the county fails to satisfy their demands.

If they follow through with the threat, Migori will become the second county in Nyanza whose medics will have boycotted work.

In Nyamira, a strike by medics has entered its second month.

In Kisii, the county administration is in talks to avert a planned strike.

In a statement, the Migori doctors said they want their employer to provide comprehensive medical cover.

"We regret that this is a matter we have pushed the administration to implement for years in vain. Many of the doctors have been variously forced to dig deep into their pockets to finance treatment, which is shameful," said the letter signed by Kevin Osuri, Nyanza KMPDU chairman.

The union faulted the county executives for taking them in circles whenever they meet to demand their rights.

"As doctors we have rights. Let those concerned come out and engage us. It is from talks that we can know where the problem is in meeting our demands. This continued silence is an insult to our profession," Osuri said.

He said the delays in payment of salaries was killing their morale and affecting healthcare services.

 "As a union, we strongly believe each employee has the right to be paid in a timely manner and if not, they have the full right to demand for it," the union official told journalists.

Treasurer Peter Morebu told journalists in Kisii that the medics in Migori will begin their strike on November 23 after giving the county government enough time to address the problem. 

"I think between now and 23rd is enough time for the county to iron out these things, failure to which we paralyse services by abandoning work," he said.

In Nyamira, health services continue to suffer after the doctors' strike entered the second month.

The county has been ordered by the Industrial Court in Kisumu to effect promotions of medics, which is the central demand in the ongoing strike.

KMPDU Nyanza secretary general Lameck Omweri told the Star on the phone that they were still waiting for the county to implement the collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017.

County Health executive Douglas Bosire, however, said the doctors' concerns had been addressed.

"We effected the promotions long before they even went to court. Let them report to work," he said.

In Kisii, the county on Thursday held the fourth meeting in less than two weeks to avert a strike. The medics are protesting lack of comprehensive medical cover.