You May Never Step in Any Hospital If You Knew This

Monday, 21 December, 2020

The doctors begin their official industrial actions today, Monday 21st December. They are joining their nurses who have been out of work for the demand of payment.

Because of this, many Kenyans have missed important medical services as many are always almost turned away on reaching the hospital gate. Kenyans remain apprehensive of any possibility of the ongoing industrials actions being resolved any soon as the Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kangwe remains bellicose.

The health ministry has directed the county governments to declare vacant the positions of striking health workers and proceed with the recruitments. Of importance is that the ministry ought to desist from being belligerent and rise to the needs of many Kenyans who are in deep pain owing to the strikes.

The same belligerent stance and intimidation of workers on industrial rations is not something new in Kenya. Way back when teachers got engaged in a terse battle with their employer the TSC, the said commission threatened to sack all the teachers and made real their efforts by advertising the positions vacant but this actually did complicate the situation.

Similarly, the government through the industrial court had intimidated doctors’ union officials with detention. The action attracted anger among Kenyans. What is your opinion, would the government maintain a hardline stance against medical workers?