The Ministry of Health has scheduled a meeting with the doctors’ union on Monday to unlock the strike stalemate.
Health CS Susan Nakhumicha in a letter to the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has invited the medics for a consultative forum.
“The purpose of this letter is to note the ongoing conciliation proceedings and in the meantime invite you and other officials of KMPDU for a consultative meeting scheduled for Monday at the Ministry of Health headquarters boardroom from 8 am,” Nakhumicha said.
The letter is addressed to KMPDU SG Davji Atellah and copied to PS Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni.
This is even as the union maintained that they would only call off the strike which began on Wednesday at midnight after all their issues were fully addressed.
Doctors have vowed to continue with their nationwide strike initiated on Thursday, disregarding a court order that temporarily halted it.
The decision came after the doctors' National Advisory Council (NAC) convened on Friday and unanimously agreed to continue the strike, denouncing the court order issued on Wednesday as unfair.
The Kenya National Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union national chairman Abi Mwachi said the decision was made in an effort to ensure issues ailing the health sector are addressed once and for all.
"We shall not obey the court orders as they will just prolong the injustices in the Healthcare sector," Mwanci said.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court on Wednesday issued an order stopping the strike by the doctors hours before the lapse of the seven-day notice the union had issued.
In a statement, doctors maintained they would only call off the strike after their key demands were fully addressed.
Mwachi said the decision to go on with the strike aims to demonstrate a commitment by doctors to act with courage rather than succumb to fear.
He said the current trajectory if continued, only serves to perpetuate the challenges within the health sector.
"It is clear that a well-intentioned individual cannot repeatedly reopen negotiations that lead to an endless cycle of meetings without progress. It is time to approach this issue decisively and bring it to a definitive resolution," he said.
Mwachi added: "The key to resolving this standoff lies in the implementation of our demands with precision and unwavering determination."
The court on Friday extended orders suspending the doctors' strike to allow for negotiations and agreement on essential services that should continue in the event of a strike.
