The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has warned that doctors across the country could stage a nationwide strike if county governments fail to implement basic salary adjustments and pay outstanding arrears provided for under the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In a circular to its members, KMPDU directed doctors in all 47 counties to review their July 2026 payslips to confirm whether the revised basic salaries had been implemented. The union also asked members to establish whether their respective county governments had issued timelines for the payment of salary arrears.
According to KMPDU, the salary adjustments were agreed under the 2017–2021 CBA, reaffirmed in the Return-to-Work Formula signed on May 8, 2024, and subsequently incorporated into a December 2024 implementation addendum. The union says a number of counties have yet to fully implement those commitments.
KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah said the union had engaged the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors (CoG), the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the National Treasury and the Directorate of Public Service Management in an effort to resolve the matter without resorting to industrial action.
“We have engaged in good faith, followed every legal process, and dismantled every roadblock in our way. We will not allow administrative inertia to rob doctors of their dignity and hard-earned rights,” Dr. Atellah said.
The union said county governments that have not implemented the agreed salary adjustments should do so without further delay and communicate a payment schedule for the outstanding arrears.
KMPDU also stated that it is considering legal action against county accounting officers who fail to comply with court orders relating to implementation of the salary adjustments.
“County accounting officers who fail to implement the court orders risk contempt proceedings,” the union said in its circular.
The salary dispute dates back to the implementation of the 2017–2021 CBA, which sets out doctors’ terms of service, including remuneration. Delays in implementing parts of the agreement contributed to the nationwide doctors’ strike that began in March 2024 and ended in May 2024 after the government and the union signed a Return-to-Work Formula.
While some county governments have since implemented the revised salary structure, KMPDU maintains that others have neither adjusted doctors’ basic pay nor settled the accumulated arrears, resulting in disparities in remuneration across counties.
At the time of publication, neither the Council of Governors nor the Ministry of Health had issued a formal response to the union’s latest warning.
No nationwide strike has been called, and public health services remain operational. However, KMPDU has indicated that it will determine its next course of action after assessing whether county governments have complied with the salary commitments contained in the collective bargaining agreement and subsequent implementation agreements.