Govt reduces arrears to Ksh330M, paving way for doctors’ salary increase
By Aloys Michael, March 19, 2026The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the Ministry of Public Service have signalled progress in addressing the delays in implementing the salary adjustment.
Fresh figures now show that the total outstanding arrears have dropped from Ksh450 million to Ksh330 million following a February 2026 circular that revised earlier payment estimates.
However, the union, through National Secretary General & Chief Executive Officer Davji Bhimji Atellah, in a statement on Thursday, March 19, 2026, has raised concerns over how the data was interpreted, particularly claims that a small percentage of doctors were overpaid during the adjustment period under review.
“The data presented indicates that approximately 5 per cent of members were overpaid, while 95 per cent are owed adjustments. This position, advanced by the DPSN, erroneously categorises annual increments as part of CBA implementation. We firmly reject this interpretation, as it directly contravenes the ELRC 2020 judgment,” stated Davji Atellah.
Government agencies, including the Department of Public Service, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the Council of Governors (CoG), and the National Treasury, had undertaken a verification process to determine the exact amount owed to individual doctors during a two-day engagement from March 17 to March 18, 2026.
KMPDU officials argue that what government agencies classify as overpayments are, in fact, standard annual salary increments and should not be treated as part of negotiated collective bargaining agreement obligations.
The CBA
The discussions came after months of uncertainty, as doctors sought clarity on payments under the 2017–2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and the third and fourth remuneration review cycles.
Although the salary review was finalized earlier, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) required additional time to issue advisory guidelines to county governments, delaying the implementation of the much-anticipated adjustments.
With the new directive released on March 10, counties have been ordered to immediately apply the revised basic salaries and include all accrued arrears in their calculations.
Officials have also been instructed to use a special payment code developed by the Department of Public Service to streamline disbursements, ensuring faster and more efficient salary processing across all counties.
Salary delays in the counties were initially attributed to funding shortfalls, with local governments citing limited equitable share allocations.
However, the allocation of an extra Ksh2 billion for personnel emoluments has now enabled counties to start implementing the third remuneration review cycle for 2021–2025, providing much-needed relief to doctors who had endured prolonged payment delays.
KMPDU has emphasised that it will actively monitor county compliance to ensure that the directive is fully executed, guaranteeing that all eligible medical professionals receive their rightful pay without further interruptions.
“We will be actively monitoring compliance across all counties to ensure full and immediate implementation. At the same time, we will independently verify the figures provided, maintaining our position that standard annual increments must not be conflated with CBA obligations,” the statement read.
Despite recent developments, the union insists that doctors deserve not only the updated salaries but also the interest on any delayed payments, as discussions over the 2025–2029 contract remain ongoing.