Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary (CS) Florence Bore has asked striking doctors to call off the ongoing strike and welcome dialogue with the Ministry of Health.
In a statement, the CS said the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Dentists and Pharmacists Union (KMPDU) must come together with the relevant parties and hold a dialogue to resolve the differences.
She also asked doctors to obey the Employment and Labour Relations Court orders, reiterating that the union must call off the strike and direct its members to return to work.
"Parties must adhere to the law and give dialogue a chance. The Labour Relations Act, 2007 provides that where parties have a difference, they may subject this through a dispute resolution mechanism. The doctors' union must therefore suspend the strike and come to the table to negotiate with the employers, that is, Ministro of Health and the 47 county governments," the statement read in parts.
"I wish to remind the Unions, that is Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPPDU), Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) and Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) that whereas the framework to exercise Freedom of Association and the Right to industrial action is provided for in the Constitution under Article 41, the right to strike is not absolute and is limited by the Constitution under Article 24 to the extent defined by
Further, the CS implored medics to work together with her ministry to accelerate the government's efforts to restore normalcy in the health sector.
"This matter has received attention at the highest level and we should have faith in each other to resolve the matter once and for all. Once more I appeal to the doctors, clinical officers and laboratory technicians to give Dialogue a Chance," CS Bore added.
The latest comes amidst growing concerns over the ailing health sector with various groups calling on the government to dialogue with doctors to resolve the impasse.
He also called out officials claiming that the strike was politically motivated to ruin the government's reputation and stall activities in the medical sector.
"It is ignorant and wrong to say that the strike is politically motivated. We gave the government notice of a strike on March 6, 2024, before proceeding on strike on March 13, we have only had one meeting with the government, the other meetings were just hanging on one side of the story so that has led us not to proceed with work because when we had a meeting we agreed with the sub-committee which was then to lead negotiations but they are not ready.
"On the 27th of last month, the government walked out on talks which is a clear indication that it is the government who doesn't care about the status of the Kenyans," he added.