Kenya: Nairobi Medics to Down Tools Thursday to Protest 'Chronic' Salary Delays

GE Healthcare
Mother and daughter at Mgabathi Hospital in Kenya (file photo)
26 February 2025
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Linet Waite

Nairobi — The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has announced a planned strike across Nairobi City County from Thursday to protest salary delays and stalled promotions.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, KMPDU said the strike is in response to salary delays, unpaid gratuities, and delayed confirmation letters.

"Strike notice: All Nairobi County doctors will down their tools at midnight on February 27 due to illegal salary stoppages and dismissals, chronic salary delays, stalled promotions, unpaid gratuities, and delayed confirmation letters," the union stated.

KMPDU said doctors had no choice but to protest over what the union termed as deliberate incapacitation.

"For quality healthcare, doctors must [be] valued, supported, and empowered to serve," the statement added.

The strike follows a 30-day notice issued by KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah demanding the resolution of salary payments.

Fresh standoff

Further, KMPDU warned on weekly protests should the Ministry of Health fail to resolve its demands on the posting of medical interns within a month.

"We are giving the government 30 days to solve this issue of payment and the posting of medical interns. Otherwise, on March 18, 2025, we will start a series of weekly demonstrations," Atellah warned.

The renewed standoff came after a video surfaced of Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa saying the government would paythe new cohort of medical interns Sh70,000 instead of Sh206,000 agreed upon in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

She was speaking at the Health Summit 2025 at Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's Karen residence on Monday, February 17.

"During our meeting in November/December, we talked about Sh206,000, but for the new cohort, we're talking about Sh70,000, and so negotiations will start to ensure that this is implemented," Barasa stated.

Atellah, responding via his official X account, warned that tampering with doctors' salaries would have serious consequences.

"Anytime you touch our salaries, you are inadvertently giving yourselves a strike notice as the government. CS Barasa, consider it served," he wrote.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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