Mombasa doctors dismiss Nassir on payment

Doctors in Mombasa have dismissed claims by county governor Abdulswamad Nassir that they have been paid saying that they are demanding for their seven years basic salary arrears.

On Monday, the county boss Nassir called upon doctors to go back to work saying that they receive their salaries on time.

Contrary to this , a doctor who sought anonymity told the star that what county government pays is their usual salary but what they are demanding as doctors is the seven years basic salary arrears which was included in the 2017/2021 Collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

He said that the CBA which was signed by both county and national governments included basic salary increment which was negotiated to start on a certain amount but that has not been effected.

“In 2020, the doctors took this matter in the labour court and later in 2021, the court ruled and directed the government to pay our arrears as indicated in the 2017/2021 CBA,”

“Today, the national government wants us to negotiate on a new CBA, 2023/2028, how can we negotiate on a new CBA yet the first one has not been implemented.

According to him, each doctor was supposed to get a salary increment of 15,000 according to the CBA, and this was supposed to be effected after the signing of the CBA.

This means that the government is supposed to pay doctors seven years arrears of the basic salary increment as it was agreed in the 2017/2021 CBA.

“If the government wants doctors back to work, they need to have a return to work formula and tell us on how they will pay what they owe us. “We want a clear agreement, if we listen to them, they will end up ignoring us and there won’t listen to anything to do with negotiations,”

“What the Mombasa county governor is talking about is about the usual salary and not the arrears we are demanding. They have no powers to our pay slips because they are generated by the national public service commission therefore we want the national government to add the amount so that it can reflect on our pay slips,” he said.

He said that the government does not obey the court orders and before they come to them with any court order of going back to work as negotiations goes on, they should first implement the first court order of the basic salary increment.

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“The strike will go on until that time the government will be serious on how to address and implement our salary issues. They are telling us that there is no money yet there is an approximate of Sh 745 billion allocated to the office of the president,”

“During the previous government, we used to see only sh10biilion allocated to the same office, the 47 counties received sh750 billion which is supposed to serve them for the whole financial year, why is the office of the president having amount than the needs of citizens, this shows how the government is selfish and corrupt,” he said.

Among the demands of doctors is also the posting of interns.

The source told the star that the government wants the salaries of interns who the CS Susan Nakhumicha promised they will be posted starting April 1 to be reduced because they are still trainees.

“As doctors we will not allow that, you cannot tell us that you want to reduce salary of someone who is supposed to be paid sh102,000 to sh46,000 in the name of reducing the unnecessary costs, this is something the union has refused because they working just like other doctors,”

“When you visit these hospitals, the interns are the ones doing the usual work when the main doctors are not around so I want to urge all the interns not to agree to anything less than what they deserve,” he said.

At the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, services are still paralyzed with patients being the victims in this push and pull of government and doctors.

KMPDU coast region branch Secretary General Ghalib Salim said that doctors employed by CGTRH are the ones who are offering minimal services at the emergency.

Last week, the clinical officers also issued a strike notice to the government which was effected on Monday.

Salim said that in Mombasa, there is an outbreak of covid for under five where children are being diagnosed with Pneumonia and TB yet doctors are on strike.

“We have empathy for them and this is an issue which could have been avoided with the talks and implementation of our demands but the government and also the governors are silent. The governors are blaming us for absconding the duties but where were they for seven years when our needs were not being implemented.

“The government should blame itself, it is not our fault because we have been working without implementation of 2017/2021 CBA but a time has come where we need our demands to be addressed,” he said.

KMPDU Coast branch S.G said that as doctors they want to put all the governors into account adding that the health sector should be reverted to the national government because the governors have failed them.

He accused the Mombasa governor for saying that they have been paid yet there are promotions which have been done.

“These governors needs to be sincere especially during this holy month of Ramadhan, in Mombasa we do not have a comprehensive cover, there is no union fees and no one is allowed to go for study leave,”

“Governors should stop intimidating us because even in those hospitals, there is a shortage of drugs, the level four hospitals are not well equipped. It is high time the health sector needs to be reviewed. The governors have failed therefore let it be taken back to the national government for us to have a good working condition,” he said.