Media: strike by Kenyan doctors over pay continues for third week
Doctors at public hospitals in Kenya have been going on strike since March, being unsatisfied with their pay conditions and taking to the streets in two major cities, Reuters reports
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), which represents over 7,000 people, declared a walkout in protest over unpaid wage arrears and the delay in employing trainee physicians.
“According to representatives of the union, the debt appeared due to a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017. Doctors are demanding the provision of adequate medical insurance cover for themselves and their dependants. Moreover, they demand that the government solve the problem of frequent delays in salaries and start paying doctors working who work in public hospitals as part of their higher degree courses,” the publication reads.
Kenya’s Health Minister Susan Nakhumicha said the government could not afford to hire trainee doctors due to the financial crisis.
