Kiambu County Governor Kabogo hires 30 Indian doctors to mitigate health crisis

As the longest doctor’s strike hits its 61st today, the longest industrial action ever, on Friday Kiambu County took a new turn and now says it has hired Indian doctors to suppress the ongoing stalemate in the public health facilities.

Kiambu Governor William Kabogo has told a local TV channel that the newly hired 30 doctors will be starting work towards the end of this month (February). The doctors, he has said, will be deployed in hospitals within the county.

In the meantime, Lady Justice Hellen Wasilwa of the Labour Relations and Employment Court on Friday in Nairobi, postponed her ruling on doctor’s union officials who were to be jailed today.

Atwoli to mediate

She has instead directed the Central Organisations of Trade Union (COTU), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and other parties to lead talks with a view of ending the government-doctors deadlock.

“The intervention that I’m seeing today is a very welcoming, I believe there could be other interventions that could solve this problem and therefore I will still exercise my discretion. I will want to give this intervention a chance,” she said on Friday.

She has also asked the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), Council of governors, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists' Union (KMPDU) and the Attorney General to be part of the talks.

Illegal CBA

Meanwhile, in a heated discussion in parliament early this month, the Senate Health Committee chaired by Migori County Senator Dr Wilfred Machage, termed the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) illegal; plunging doctors in yet another panic owing to the lapse of the ultimatum that was earlier issued by the Labour and Relations Court.

Late last year, over 45 county governments had advertised for replacement of the striking doctors who had vowed that they would not return to work until the highly contested 2013 BA is implemented.

Already some counties, including Kisumu, had indicated that the doctors who continue with the industrial action would be laid off, to give way for the employment of three-year-contract doctors to end the continued suffering of Kenyans.