The Ministry of Health and the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union have reached an agreement to commence posting all interns starting from April 1, 2024.
KMPDU officials convened a meeting with ministry officials on Monday morning to resolve the deadlock regarding the posting of interns.
During a media briefing following the meeting, Health CS Susan Nakhumicha announced progress in addressing internal issues within the ministry.
However, she mentioned that matters necessitating multi-stakeholder involvement would be tackled in a subsequent meeting later this week.
Regarding the posting of interns, which falls under the ministry’s jurisdiction, it was agreed that the union would participate in the review of the internship policy. This measure aims to ensure alignment with Universal Health Coverage and address all emerging issues.
“We have received confirmation from Treasury and beginning April 1 which is in two weeks, we are going to begin posting of all the interns,” the CS said.
However, the CS mentioned that the union had requested time to consult its members on whether to call off the strike.
She added that a team led by Health DG Patrick Amoth is currently on the ground to assess any impact of the strike on healthcare services in the country.
“As much as we had some small pockets of here and there, largely services have been uninterrupted in many of the facilities and with the goodwill that we have had in discussion this morning, we hope then that should be the position that services continue to be availed to Kenyans,” said Nakhumicha.
Regarding the lapsed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), it was decided that the ministry would proceed with negotiations.
The CS noted that the union had sent a letter to the ministry regarding the CBA, to which the ministry responded with a counter offer. However, both parties had not yet convened to discuss the matter at the negotiating table.
“We have agreed that within this week, the ministry will call for a meeting so that matters that are in the CBA can be addressed and negotiations begin,” she said.
