Lecturers in medical schools through their union Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU) have suspended a looming strike for another two weeks.
The strike was scheduled to start today (Friday) but was called off after 'progressive' talks between the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu), Vice Chancellors Committee and Ministry of Education to address the plight raised by the medical lecturers.
According to KMPDU Secretary General Ouma Oluga, the vice chancellors committee and the ministry of education have requested for a grace period of two weeks in order to consider on the payment of allowances and arrears that were agreed on in 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The medical lecturers who double up as specialized doctors and medical consultant in referral hospitals, are demanding for risk and emergency call allowances awarded to their counterparts last year after a prolonged strike that crippled medical services in hospitals countrywide.
The healthcare system is yet to recover from the 100 days industrial action that left death, pain and desperation in its wake.
However, the complexity of the payment arises as the medical schools have a memorandum of understanding whereby basic salary and house allowances are catered for by the ministry of Education.
The rest of the other allowances are paid by the ministry of health.
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