You have 48 hours to finalize talks and end the strike

The Employment and Labor Relations Court has ordered the government and striking doctors to finalize the return to work formula by Wednesday.

“The parties have one last opportunity to conclude a return to work formula prior to the return date, in the event the Court fails to hear the petitions and determine all outstanding requests in the petition,” the orders read.

Justice Byrum Ongaya stated that if this is not done in the next 48 hours, the court will have to hold a hearing of the petitions in the case from 2:30 p.m. for two hours.

Wednesday’s session, he said, will be shared by the parties’ lawyers for the purposes of the hearing, as the case may be.

The judge warned that as the parties are at a threshold to conclude the return to work formula, they are encouraged to proceed accordingly, in good faith.

He said that for the purposes of the hearing and if a return to work formula is not concluded, the parties will be free to file and deliver submissions in paper and electronic formats by noon on May 8, 2024.

The stalemate between striking doctors and the government hit a snag during a Friday meeting that lasted late into the night.

At the meeting with the All Nation Focus Committee, the Kenya Medical Doctors and Dentists Union (KMPDU) did not sign the return to work formula.

The union accused the government of failing to commit to the timelines for implementing the issues raised in the strike notice.

Facing their disagreement, the Committee representing both the county and national governments signed the document, which was expected to be presented to the court on Monday.

KMPDU officials later stated that they would sign a different document setting out their demands and present it to the court as a return-to-work formula.

On Thursday, the labor court had ordered the parties to sign the document.

On the same day, the Council of Governors (CoG) appeared before a joint parliamentary session of the health committee together with KMPDU, Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) and Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) to try to resolve their grievances.

The KMPDU then insisted that the negotiations document was incomplete and could not be a return to work formula.

The union added that several issues remained outstanding from the strike notice.

Prior to Monday’s court orders, a meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday between the CoG, KMPDU, KUCO and KNUMLO to agree on a return to work formula.