WHEN IMPUNITY BECOMES LAW…..
Good Evening Comrades,
I hope you are all doing fine and keeping off work as we asked you 52 days ago.
Last evening another attempt by the Union to negotiate failed after the government side refused to engage us on any of the clauses that National Advisory Council,NAC found unsatisfactory.They instead decided to use veiled threats and blackmail to force us to sign an incomplete and one-sided Return-to-Work Formula.
KMPDU will not be ambushed nor coerced to sign a document that goes against our CBA 2017.We will not succumb to the intransigence of government nor shall we honor a marriage proposal to sacrifice our union members at the alter of cheap theatrics and short lasting pleasure.WE SHALL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!
This was the most avoidable strike if not for the incompetence of the leadership at the Ministry of Health and the trivialization of our concerns by counties and their refusal to comply with court orders.
We have patiently waited for 7 years for our hard earned CBA to be implemented, during which we have gone through endless consultations, negotiation and court processes whose outcomes employers never implement nor obey.The most recent progressive process resulted in an implementation matrix signed on the 6th of January 2023 by CS for Health,CoG Representatives and the union.
As doctors, we owe it to ourselves to stand up for our profession, to stand up for our patients, and to stand up for the future generations of health and public sector workers. We have been on strike for 52 days and it is clear that this government does not intend to negotiate in good faith.We have always said that it is the government on strike.We welcome their decision to end their strike and sign a Return-to-Work Formula.We hope they will now submit themselves to their call of duty.
They have consistently said that they have conceded to 99.9 percent of the issues we wanted addressed,today we challenge them to make public these 18 issues and the timelines,otherwise we shall expose them for the dishonest men and women that they are.
More than ever we now believe that this government does not care about Kenyans because last evening we went for the meeting with an intention to end the strike.We flew in all the NAC members so that we be able to vote and end the strike,but we were treated to belligerence and theater of the absurd where one side came up with a RTWF only agreeable to them and proceeded to sign it alone despite the court ruling otherwise.This despite the suffering of Kenyans occassioned by the floods and the risks of waterborne diseases.
As your leadership, we have continually reflected on what strategies and tactics we have undertaken and how to make the best decisions in the ever changing circumstances.We are fully cognizant of the strange times Kenyans find themselves and the current catastrophic floods.Our intentions have never been to hurt our people who have supported our cause nor make them suffer unnecessarily.We still remain true to our oath and it shall remain our guiding light.
For now, we are preparing to go to court on Monday to put forward our position. I want to assure you that tough times don’t last,tough people do because when Impunity becomes law, resistance becomes duty!
WE SHALL OVERCOME!!
In Solidarity
Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah
Secretary General & CEO
Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union.
