Health Services in Nandi County might soon be disrupted following a strike threat that the doctors union has issued.
According to the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacist and Dentist Union (KMPDU), their members in Nandi County are being subjected to a poor working environment, including delayed salary payments.
KMPDU North Rift chairperson Dr Darwin Ambuka further claims doctors in the county were facing discrimination.
“We demand the right labour practice for the development of all the workers. The county government of Nandi should uphold the integrity and pay their workers. Most of our doctors have been subjected to unfair treatment with some being paid promptly while the rest continue to serve without payment or with delayed payments,” said Dr Ambuka.
Permanent terms
The KMPDU North Rift boss also challenged devolved units in the region to focus on ensuring all health workers are employed on permanent and pensionable terms.
He lamented that a majority of the counties were employing doctors on a contract basis, affecting their career development.
“Doctors are always stranded once their contracts expire and this has killed many professions,” said Dr Ambuka.
He singled out Turkana County which recently announced vacancies for health workers on a contract basis. The doctor’s union however welcomed the county’s recent move to include their members in the Budget and Economic Forum committee.
The committee has a mandate of deciding on budgetary allocation for the health department in the county.
“We appreciate the gesture from the Turkana County government to include KMPDU members in this powerful committee and we urge other counties to emulate this example. So far, Turkana is the only county within the North Rift Region that has included the union in its health budget-making process,” noted Dr Ambuka.
