Doctors in Kisumu have said they will not return to work until their demands are met by the county government as their strike entered its fourth week.
The doctors began their strike on June 9, joining other health workers in demands for better pay and promotions.
The county on June 11 threatened to sack the over 3,000 medics if they did not return to work. They called the threat a bluff.
The county then sued the unions representing nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and civil servants.
On June 24, Employment and Labour Relations Court judge Nduma Nderi suspended the strike and ordered the medics back to work by June 26.
Justice Nderi failed to declare the strike illegal and directed the county government to promote the workers.
The doctors were not part of the suit by the county government.
Kevin Osuri, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Doctors Union Nyanza branch chairman, told the Star that their strike is still on.
On Tuesday, the doctors met county government officials including the county secretary and finance department over their demands.
However, Osuri noted, “We agreed on what the county should do to end the strike. The ball is in their court.”
In their strike notice last month, the doctors demanded that their promotions and pay arrears be backdated to July 1, 2019.
KMPDU Nyanza secretary Lameck Omweri said the county had failed to issue promotion letters to doctors interviewed by the Public Service Board.
He said some have been on probation for more than three years.
Governor Anyang Nyong’o has claimed that politics was fanning the strikes within the county.
But the doctors have remained firm, promising that unless their demands are met, the strike continues.
(edited by o. owino)