Doctors have suspended their plan to go on strike to give the Ministry of Health time to act on the grievances raised through the union.
The doctors under the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) had threated to withdraw their services from hospitals across the country.
They are protesting delayed posting of interns and four months salary arrears for those already posted by the ministry.
KMPDU officials on Tuesday held a meeting with Health CS Susan Wafula.
The morning meeting saw the Ministry commit to act on the grievances raised in the next two weeks.
The CS committed to ensure all the 895 interns posted in January are paid their salary arrears by May 22 while 360 interns that are yet to be posted are posted in the next two weeks.
KMPDU secretary general Davji Atellah said failure by the Ministry to deliver its end of bargain will have the union rally its members to withdraw services countrywide.
“We want to say that in our discussion today, even if we are going to continue discussing this issue of suspending the strike of the interns, these dates are committed and these dates mean an important thing for all healthcare workers,” he said.
"Failure to meet these demands and other issues that have been raised by the union will culminate into a nationwide strike,” he added.
The union has raised concern that the delay to pay the interns had made them to struggle to make ends meet and can barely meet their basic needs.
This, Atellah said, has led to demotivation within the workforce which is likely to compromise on the quality of healthcare service provision in public health facilities.
