KMPDU warns 17 counties of November 25 doctors' strike over salary dispute

Seventeen county governments have been put on notice over a looming doctors' strike after KMPDU accused them of disregarding a salary agreement that has already been backed by a court order, despite funds being made available to facilitate its implementation.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has given the affected counties 21 days to adjust doctors' basic salaries, warning that medical practitioners will stop working on November 25, 2026, if the outstanding changes are not reflected in their payslips.

The union issued the ultimatum on Wednesday, November 4, saying it had exhausted the time given to county governments to meet their obligations and would not accept further delays.

In a statement posted on its official X account, KMPDU said doctors would proceed with the industrial action once the notice period expires if the counties failed to implement the agreed salary changes.

"Unless the outstanding adjustments are reflected in doctors' payslips within 21 days, doctors in the affected counties will down their tools on November 25, 2026," KMPDU wrote.

Addressing the media, Secretary General Davji Atellah said the dispute arose from the failure by 17 county governments to implement resolutions reached with the union under a return-to-work formula and subsequent agreements.

He recalled that the Council of Governors had, during a meeting on July 22, 2026, directed county administrations to implement the outstanding salary adjustments.

Atellah said KMPDU had also set the end of October as the deadline for compliance, but the affected counties had failed to act, forcing the union to issue a formal strike notice.

“Today, November 4, 2026, we issue a 21-day strike notice to these 17 counties that have not implemented basic salary adjustment,” he said.

The union traced the outstanding payments to a return-to-work formula signed on May 8, 2024, which was subsequently reinforced by a court order issued on the same day.

Atellah maintained that county governments could no longer use financial constraints as a reason for delaying implementation, claiming that the money required to meet the commitments had been released in the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 financial years.

He disclosed that 30 counties had already implemented the salary adjustments, leaving 17 administrations yet to comply with the agreement.

The counties facing possible disruption of medical services are Murang'a, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Lamu, Taita-Taveta, Tana River, Machakos, Makueni, Laikipia, Narok, Kajiado, Embu, Isiolo, Meru and Vihiga.

The KMPDU leadership maintained that the outstanding adjustments were not subject to fresh bargaining, arguing that the agreements had already been concluded and should now be honoured by the respective county governments.

“We are not ready for any negotiations... County governments must honour their commitments as healthcare cannot operate on broken agreements.,” he said.

Atellah warned that failure to meet the November 25 deadline would leave doctors with no option but to withdraw their services, potentially affecting healthcare delivery across the 17 counties.

The union also raised concerns over possible attempts by county officials to bypass its national leadership by engaging individual branch leaders and county liaisons.

It cautioned the affected administrations against holding separate negotiations with branch officials, county representatives or national union leaders during the 21-day notice period.

KMPDU further reiterated that the counties had already received the resources required to implement the salary changes and had been allowed three months to complete the process.

The union insisted that its latest action was aimed at securing compliance with existing agreements rather than seeking additional concessions, maintaining that county governments must fulfil the commitments made to doctors.

With the strike deadline set for November 25, the 17 counties have three weeks to resolve the dispute and prevent doctors from withdrawing their services.