KMPDU Threatens Strike if May 2024 CBA Isn’t Honored by July 6

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has issued an ultimatum to the government, demanding the fulfillment of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in early May 2024. The union has warned that failure to honor the agreement by July 6 will result in industrial action.

The CBA primarily focuses on the immediate deployment of medical interns. However, the government has proposed delaying their absorption due to ongoing legal proceedings.

In a statement, KMPDU leader Davji Atellah emphasized the union’s commitment to addressing the interns’ concerns within a 60-day period, from May 8 to July 6.

“Despite differing positions, we agreed that the issue of posting medical interns would be discussed and resolved within sixty days from May 8, 2024. No intern was to be coerced into accepting illegal letters. The 60-day period lapses on July 6, 2024, at 5:37 PM,” Atellah stated.

He further highlighted that the agreement, which was deposited in court, must be honored without delay. “The intern posting must be done in July, and the posting letters should be ready by July 6, 2024, without violating our CBA. Waiting for a court decision on September 26, 2024, concerns the legality and future of the CBA and does not affect the current cohort’s posting,” he said.

Atellah has warned of a potential strike if the government fails to honor the agreement by the deadline. He indicated that a notice of industrial action would be issued on July 8.

“We will give notice for industrial action from July 8, 2024, if the government does not honor the 60 days,” Atellah added.

In May, the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU) signed a return-to-work agreement with the Ministry of Health, effectively ending a nationwide doctors’ strike that had lasted for 56 days.