In Summary
- The Council of Governors concern on doctor’s strike
- Governor Ann Waiguru on the Doctor’s salary
The Council of Governors (CoG) has demanded the national government against giving in to the demand by doctors to implement the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in 2017 that is at the center of their month-long strike.
The move by the Governors to disregard the 2017/2021 CBA is likely to plunge the country into further uncertainty since the health professionals have also already adopted a hard stance.
Governors concern
Governors have objected to the format of talks to resolve the strike by doctors. they also refused to pay doctors more saying they are already the best-paid professionals in the counties.
The governors said the “Whole of Nation approach Committee” constituted by the labor Court to resolve doctors’ grievances cannot make decisions for the 47 counties.
Council of Governors chair Anne Waiguru said they might not participate in the talks under such a format.
“The Council of Governors appreciates the whole of nation approach directive by the court whose aim is to have a long lasting solution to the perennial industrial unrest in the health sector. However, this is not tenable as both the national and county governments are independent and distinct employers,” Waiguru said yesterday, after an extraordinary council meeting at COG head offices in Nairobi attended by at least 26 county chiefs.
Read Also: Our Families are Suffering, Nairobi Workers Plead With Sakaja to End Doctors’ Strike
Ann Waiguru on Doctors salary
She downplayed the doctors’ call for better pay saying they’re currently remunerated well, claiming County Senior Medical Officers presently take home nearly half a million shillings in wages.
“We also wish to bring to the attention of the public that senior medical doctors are paid 103% higher, which is double the amount that is paid to non-health workers in the public service and other doctors in the private sector,” she said.
Read Also: Doctor’s long ongoing strike in the Nation
“Currently, a County Senior Medical Officer is paid Ksh.479, 000, with a basic salary of Ksh.203, 000, emergency call allowance (Ksh.80,000), house allowance (Ksh.56,000), commuter allowance (Ksh.20,000), non-practice allowance (Ksh.60,000), extraneous allowance (Ksh.40,000), and risk allowance (Ksh.20,000),” she narrated.
The Kirinyaga Governor told medics to go back to duty, terming their industrial action illegal.
“As duty bearers, we cannot afford to remain silent as Kenyans continue to suffer and in other unfortunate cases, death, due to an unprotected strike and that the doctors have not complied with the court directive. The Constitution defines doctors as essential workers and therefore they are not expected to abandon their stations of duty.”
