Kenyan Doctors End Strike After State’s Pledge on Virus Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Kenyan doctors ended a four-day strike after the government pledged to address their concerns over working conditions and financial welfare for treating Covid-19 patients.

Members of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union embarked on a work stoppage on Dec. 21 after eight months of talks with the state failed to resolve a dispute over financial benefits and safety. The doctors demanded medical insurance, adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and workman-injury benefits.

“We have arrived at a return-to-work formula,” Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Services Simon Chelugui said in a broadcast Thursday on Citizen TV. The union will continue to have talks with the government over the matters that gave cause to the strike, said Chibanzi Mwachonda, the union’s acting secretary-general.

Kenya has recorded 95,431 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, with 1,652 deaths.

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