KMPDU issues 21-day strike ultimatum to 17 counties over doctors’ salaries

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 4-The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has issued a 21-day strike notice to 17 county governments over failure to implement agreed salary adjustments for doctors, warning that services could be disrupted from November 25, 2026.

The union says doctors in the affected counties will down their tools if the outstanding salary adjustments are not reflected in their payslips within the notice period.

In a statement, KMPDU accused the 17 county governments of failing to honour commitments contained in a Return-to-Work Formula, a court order and a subsequent addendum, insisting that the salary adjustments are not new demands.

“30 counties have complied. The remaining 17 have no justification for continued inaction,” the union said.

KMPDU maintained that the affected counties had been given the necessary directive, funds and a three-month grace period to implement the adjustments but had yet to comply.

The 17 counties facing the strike threat are Murang’a, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Lamu, Taita-Taveta, Tana River, Machakos, Makueni, Laikipia, Narok, Kajiado, Embu, Isiolo, Meru and Vihiga.

The union is demanding full and unconditional implementation of the agreed salary adjustments, arguing that county governments should honour commitments already reached with doctors rather than reopen negotiations.

“Unless the outstanding adjustments are reflected in doctors’ payslips within 21 days, doctors in the affected counties will down their tools on 25th November 2026,” KMPDU warned.

The threatened industrial action could disrupt healthcare services across the 17 counties, potentially affecting patients who rely on public hospitals and other county-run health facilities.

​Bruhan Makong is a Senior News Reporter for Capital FM in Nairobi, covering diplomacy, foreign policy, national security, climate, and human rights across East Africa and the wider region.