The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has drawn a line in the sand amid a push for salary adjustments as per the agreement.

In a circular released on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah directed doctors in all 47 counties to scrutinise their July 2026 payslips and warned that failure to reflect revised salary scales would trigger immediate nationwide industrial action.

“Should any county government fail to reflect the adjusted basic salary rates or issue a clear schedule for disbursing outstanding arrears, we will act immediately,” Atellah declared.

This is not another routine threat. This is a payroll purge that exposes decades of dysfunction in how county governments manage doctors’ compensation, and the union is no longer buying excuses.

What makes this ultimatum different is the union’s meticulous documentation that every technical, legal, and administrative roadblock previously cited by government agencies has been systematically dismantled. The budget barrier fell first.

 n July 2025, the Council of Governors formally requested a new payroll code for the revised salaries, confirming that the national government had made resources available for payment of salary arrears.

The structural barrier followed. In September 2025, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission issued guidance approving the basic salary notches developed for implementing the 2017–2021 CBA. The system barrier was the final domino.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale wrote to the Ministry of Public Service on June 29, 2026, seeking urgent coding of the revised salary scales in the Human Resource Information System. Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku confirmed on July 1 that the payroll system already contains a special salary code for payments outside the normal civil service structure, requiring no additional modification.

“There is now zero justification for any further delay by any county government or Ministry department. Compliance will not be delivered on a silver platter,it must be exacted through our collective strength and solidarity,” Atellah said. reminding members that the strict timelines granted by the Annual Delegates Conference on May 9, 2026, had already elapsed.

KMPDU has ordered Branch Executive Committees and members nationwide to audit their July payslips before the union decides on its next course of action. The union is conducting a forensic payroll audit to identify which counties have complied and which have continued to stall.

Atellah outlined a series of engagements to demonstrate that all procedural requirements have already been fulfilled, including a July 4, 2025 letter from the CoG requesting the State Department for Public Service to issue a new payroll code, SRC guidance issued on September 19, 2025, and Health CS Duale’s June 29 letter to the Ministry of Public Service seeking urgent coding.

In response, Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku confirmed on July 1 that the payroll system already contains a special salary code for payments outside the normal civil service structure, requiring no additional modification, with county payroll managers able to use the existing facility.

The union subsequently issued a final ultimatum to the CoG on July 6 demanding immediate implementation before participating in a multi-agency consultative meeting convened by the council on July 13 to deliberate on the rollout.

KMPDU argued that county governments have acknowledged budgetary provisions, SRC has provided guidance on the applicable salary structure, and the payroll system has been confirmed ready. “There is now zero justification for any further delay by any county government or Ministry department,” Atellah insisted.

Counties face legal reckoning

The union has signalled it will pursue more than just a strike. It has threatened contempt of court proceedings against non-compliant accounting officers.

“We have engaged in good faith, followed every legal process, and dismantled every roadblock in our way. We will not allow administrative inertia to rob doctors of their dignity and hard-earned rights,” Atellah said.

This is a significant escalation. Individual county officials now face personal legal liability for failing to implement obligations arising from the Return-to-Work Formula signed on May 8, 2024, and its December 19, 2024 addendum, both of which the union says are enforceable court orders.

“KMPDU stands ready to execute nationwide industrial action and initiate contempt of court proceedings against non-compliant Accounting Officers without further notice,” Atellah warned.

The union boss maintained that KMPDU had acted in good faith by pursuing legal and administrative remedies before considering industrial action. He instructed Branch Executive Committees and members nationwide to audit their July payslips before the union decides on its next course of action.

This latest standoff is not an isolated incident. It follows a 56-day nationwide doctors’ strike that ended in May 2024 only after extensive negotiations facilitated by the Labour Relations Court and the Ministry of Labour.

The union has accused county governments of demonstrating “blatant disregard” for the Employment Act, the Labour Relations Act, the 2017–2021 CBA, and the revised scheme of service.

In Homa Bay County, doctors issued a separate 21-day strike notice over grievances including stagnation in career progression and failure to remit statutory deductions. Doctors in Mombasa similarly struck over what they described as willful negligence by county authorities.

“Issues include the failure to remit outstanding statutory deductions such as insurance premiums, loan repayments, and union dues, placing workers at risk of financial ruin,” KMPDU stated in an earlier notice.

The union has exhausted all legal, administrative and intergovernmental channels to secure implementation of the salary adjustments anchored in the 2017–2021 CBA, the Return-to-Work Formula signed on May 8, 2024, and its December 19, 2024 addendum.

According to the union, previous technical and administrative obstacles cited by government agencies have now been resolved, leaving no justification for further delays in implementing the revised salaries and paying outstanding arrears.

The union has instructed members to remain on standby for further directions from its National Advisory Council. July payslips will be the deciding factor. For the thousands of doctors who have waited years for salary adjustments anchored in a CBA signed nearly a decade ago.

“KMPDU stands ready to execute nationwide industrial action and initiate contempt of court proceedings against non-compliant Accounting Officers without further notice.” He urged.

“There is now zero justification for any further delay by any county government or Ministry department. We have engaged in good faith, followed every legal process, and dismantled every roadblock in our way. We will not allow administrative inertia to rob doctors of their dignity and hard-earned rights,” he said,