COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to immediately mediate in the talks between doctors and the Health Ministry to bring to an end the current strike.
In an official statement he made on Tuesday, the trade unionist said that this would offer the fastest way to address the grievances aired by doctors.
"Health is a key sensitive sector to any nation that it wouldn’t take any government even a day to overlook the sector. COTU now calls upon the President to personally intervene in the matter and initiate immediate dialogue between the striking doctors and the government. Kenyans are dying in our hospitals and nobody seems to care," he said.
"COTU is urging both parties to respect our enormous Industrial Relations Machinery which if properly utilized, there would be no need of referring matters to the Courts and we are also appealing to the Courts to be lenient towards the striking workers and play a reconciliatory role instead of being punitive," said Atwoli.
Atwoli’s sentiments come just shortly after the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) decided to withdraw its members from Kenyatta National Hospital’s private wing and said they would extend the withdrawal to private hospitals all over the country.
In the botched talks, the government had offered a Sh50 000 rise to the lowest paid doctor in what would see them take home Sh176 000 but the figure was rejected by the union officials who walked out.