NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has threatened a fresh nationwide strike over delayed salary increments, unpaid arrears, and failure by the government to fully implement previous return-to-work agreements.
The warning, issued during the union’s annual delegates meeting in Nairobi, raises fears of renewed disruption in public hospitals barely two years after a crippling nationwide doctors’ strike paralysed healthcare services across the country.
KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah accused both the national and county governments of neglecting doctors despite growing inflation, staff shortages, and mounting pressure on public healthcare facilities.
“The last time doctors got a salary increment was in 2017, yet inflation has been very high,” Atellah said as the union pushed for a 30 per cent pay rise under the proposed 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The union says several commitments made under the Return-to-Work Formula signed after the 2024 doctors’ strike remain unresolved, including payment of arrears and implementation of revised salary structures.
According to KMPDU, delays in implementing agreed salary adjustments have left many doctors frustrated, with some counties yet to honour obligations adopted through court-backed agreements.
Recent engagements between the union, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the Council of Governors, and the Treasury reportedly reduced outstanding arrears from Sh450 million to about Sh330 million, but doctors insist most members are still owed payments.
The union has also faulted the SRC for allegedly slowing implementation of agreed salary reviews despite earlier commitments by government agencies to conclude the process earlier this year.
Kenya’s public health sector has experienced repeated labour disputes in recent years, with strikes frequently linked to delayed salaries, poor working conditions, understaffing, and disputes over the implementation of CBAs.
In 2024, doctors staged a 56-day nationwide strike that severely disrupted services in public hospitals before the government signed a return-to-work agreement with the union.
Although the government later released billions of shillings to settle some arrears and facilitate promotions, disputes over implementation have persisted in several counties.
The union has not yet announced a formal strike date but warned that failure to resolve the dispute could trigger industrial action across public hospitals nationwide.
