It is now over 42 days since Kenyan doctors went on strike paralysing services in public hospitals across the country.
Since the mass action began on December 5, 2016, the government has employed different measures to resolve the stalemate and mitigate effects of the health crisis that has continued to take a toll on poor and vulnerable Kenyans.
On the other hand, the doctors through the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) remain insistent that only the full implementation of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed in 2013 would get them to resume work.
With no immediate solution in sight to the ongoing health crisis, it would be important to look at how far the government has gone in its bid to end the doctors' strike.
1. KDF Officers
When the ongoing strike began, a full-blown crisis struck considering the mass action involved all health practitioners including the nurses. At the Kenyatta National Hospital, the situation was so dire, so much that the government had to deploy doctors in the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to handle emergency cases.
The decision came on December 9, 2016 - five days after the doctors downed their tools.
2. Government Strike Deal with Nurses
Amid the pain and suffering patients were undergoing due to the combined doctors' and nurses' strike, the government managed to broker a deal with the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN).
The Government put pen to paper on a Sh7 Billion agreement that saw the nurses union call off their strike leaving the doctors to continue pressurising their employee to honour the 2013 CBA.
The return-to-work deal would see nurses receive allowances of between Sh15,000 to Sh20,000, depending on their job group.
The ministry and the union agreed that the nurses would formulate a 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which would be signed and registered in court within 60 days effective from January 1, 2017.
3. Negotiations at State House, Mombasa
After it proved difficult to strike a deal with the doctors, President Uhuru Kenyatta intervened and called the KMPDU officials to State House Mombasa.
During the negotiations, Mr Kenyatta made a Sh4 Billion offer that would raise the entry level grade for doctors to Job Group “M” from Job Group “L” which is higher than the normal entry level for other public servants.
Additionally, the minimum gross salary for entry level doctors was increased from the current KSh 140,244 to KSh 196,989 among other proposals.
The medical practitioners, however, turned down the offer.
4. Threats to Fire Doctors
After declining the President's offer and firmly insisting on the implementation of the 2013 CBA, the government took on another strategy that the medics have termed as 'scare tactics'.
On January 9, 2017, Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu and the Council of Governors (CoG) gave the doctors a three-day ultimatum to resume work or face disciplinary action.
Meru Governor and CoG Chair, Peter Munya, stated that: "We have made a decision; those who don't resume work will face disciplinary action from Wednesday this week. They will get show-cause letters by the respective counties. The counties will have no option but to implement the employment regulations and dismiss them."
The County Government also threatened to advertise the positions of striking doctors.
At the same time, reports emerged that the Government was considering hiring foreign doctors from Cuba and India.
5. Redistribution of Medicine to Operating Hospitals
As the strike raged on, the Health CS directed the County Governments to redistribute medicine allocated to public facilitates that have been shut down, due to the strike, to the more than 2,000 faith-based hospitals currently operational.
"I urge all Kenyans with a medical emergency such as road accidents injuries to proceed to the faith-based institutions registered under the National Hospital Insurance Fund, where they will be treated," Mr Mailu said.
6. Court Order
The most radical move against the doctors' came recently after the Court declared the industrial action illegal and ordered doctors to end it within two weeks. Failure to do so will see KMPDU officials locked up in jail for going against the law.
Apart from these cushioning solutions, the Government has insisted that it is ready to negotiate with the medics within the confines of the law.
Mailu has continually mentioned that the Government's offer is still on the table but highlighted it would be impossible to implement the 2013 CBA.
