Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui has urged medical staff to continue working as it looks in to ways of resolving their grievances which had prompted them to issue a strike notice.
He quoted Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Kinyanjui said this was a time to unite, stand together and fight the pandemic.
In his statement, seven days after the medics who include 205 doctors and 1,200 nurses in the county, working in 184 government hospitals Governor Kinyanjui appealed for utmost caution and patriotism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The County Government takes this opportunity to urge the medical staff to treat the issues at hand with utmost caution and patriotism,” read part of the statement.
On August 14, the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) South Rift Chapter issued a 21-day ultimatum for implementation of the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) failing which they would down tools.
If the union makes good their threat, it will compound an already existing problem because more than 1,000 nurses in the county are on a go slow to protest delayed July salaries.
The medics are protesting delayed promotions for 180 doctors that have been pending since 2016.
They are also demanding designation of specialized doctors and issuance of comprehensive cover for doctors employed on contract during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The KMPDU chapter representative, Devji Atellah said the strike will commence on the September 4.
Kinyanjui said his administration had carefully studied the issues raised and believe many of them could be resolved amicably.
“Many of the issues raised are within the reach of the county government and we shall continue with our negotiations and hope that we can get to a resolution in the coming days,” said Kinyanjui.
He observed that consequences of a doctors’ strike during the pandemic would be disastrous and would reverse the gains made in the fight against COVID-19.
“Any action that would lead to a reversal of the gains made in the fight against the pandemic would be major drawback and would place a heavy liability to Kenyans at large,” he added.
He said doctors have an opportunity to secure a place in history as the profession that risked their lives and wrestled the pandemic to save mankind.