For over a month, Nairobi residents have been having pain visiting hospitals operated by the county government, as doctors remain on strike after they failed to sign a return-to-work formula.

Even though the county and the medics held a meeting last week and came up with an agreement for a return to work formula, the doctors did not sign the memorandum of understanding prolonging their strike into the fifth week.

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Nairobi Chapter Secretary General Chao Malindi stated that the medics were meeting before deciding on whether to sign the return to work agreement by the county.

“We will only return back to work if the county shows commitment to us. If they want us to even stay for one year we will stay for one year without working,“she said.

Return of services

On his part, Nairobi City County Chief Officer for Public Health, Tom Nyakaba, stated that the county is at cross purpose as they are wondering why the medics failed to sign the return to work formula even after they came up with it as a team from the county and the medics union.

“I do not know where the challenge is because the county team signed their part, but the doctors have not yet signed. As the administration, we have already signed. The agreement was reached as a team and was not one-sided, and the doctors’ union leaders can confirm the same,” Nyakaba explained.

The medics and the county administration met last week after directions from the court, where the county had gone to seek intervention to see the return of services.

In the return to work agreement, the Nairobi City County promised to reinstate two doctors whom they had illegally dismissed as stated by KMPDU.

The Sakaja administration and the doctors agreed that doctors whose salaries were stopped would be paid their salary arrears together with the March salary payment, even as they committed to addressing the repetitive delay of salaries by ensuring a timely remittance.