President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has requested the doctors and nurses to end their strike which entered its third day on Wednesday. Around 5,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists have participated in a national strike after Sunday’s negotiations failed between unions and government on wage increases. The unions are demanding a four-fold increase in doctors ‘salaries, and a 25-40% increase in nurses’ salaries. This was registered in 2013 by a collective bargaining agreement that has never been applied since then.
Many patients have passed away in public hospitals due to the dearth of adequate services according to hospital sources. Others were asked to shift to private hospitals. But the dilemma lies in the fact that majority of the population cannot afford.
President Kenyatta said while visiting a hospital in Eastern Kenya, “Good faith requires people to understand that we do not put the lives of our fellow Kenyans at risk, especially when there is an atmosphere where dialogue is already ongoing. Let us partner together, we will find a solution, but please let us not allow the innocent citizen to suffer, who has nothing to do with the problem.”
