Intern doctors in Meru have told the government to brace for the “grandmother of all protests” as the push for implementation of their 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement gains momentum in counties.
The doctors held peaceful demonstrations on Tuesday within Meru town in solidarity with their colleagues in Nairobi.
“This is just a neonate of a demonstration; we are having a grandmother of demonstrations from today onwards and our salaries must be maintained, we must be given allowances,” they said through a spokesperson.
Among the issues contained in the 2017 CBA that they want implemented include their posting on permanent and pensionable terms and provision of comprehensive medical cover.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) called for the strike on March 14 accusing the government of backtracking on its pledge to implement all the promises they signed seven years ago after a historic 100-day strike.
Mediation interventions by the government have failed to reach a consensus with KMPDU Secretary General Devji Atellah saying the strike will hold until all their grievances are fully addressed.
The medical interns in Meru said they will not relent in their push to be categorised in the right job groups and condemned what they termed as a “radical decision” by the government to withdraw some of their allowances.
“We are not going to surrender, it’s not business as usual,” the doctors said and pointed out that the county’s medical facilities are understaffed and those on call are the intern doctors who are doing the bulk of the work.
The doctors who at some point broke into sorrowful songs appealed to President William Ruto, the Council of Governors and the Health Ministry to move with speed and arrest the impending crisis in public health facilities.
“We know that if there is a doctor who is working more than any other doctor, it’s the intern doctor. The government has dared reduce our salaries by 91 per cent…we shall not accept any reductions in salaries.”
The protests in Meru were held concurrently with similar processions in Nakuru town where medics also held sit-ins outside Governor Susan Kihika’s office to push for the same agenda.
