KMPDU threatens doctors' strike if nurses' standoff persists

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has threatened to issue a strike notice if the ongoing nurses' strike is not resolved within seven days.

KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Bhimji Atellah said the continued disruption of services in public health facilities had escalated beyond a labour dispute, warning of growing consequences for patients.

"What is unfolding across the country is no longer a labour dispute that can be managed through delays, threats or court processes. It is a national healthcare emergency," Dr. Atellah said in a statement issued on Monday.

The doctors’ union boss said public health facilities were operating under severe strain, with essential services disrupted and healthcare workers overstretched.

Dr. Atellah said doctors and other healthcare professionals were increasingly being forced to work in difficult conditions as they shoulder workloads he described as "neither sustainable nor safe for patients."

He warned that the situation was already having a direct impact on patients, citing delayed treatment, disrupted services, preventable complications and avoidable suffering.

"The current crisis did not emerge overnight," Dr. Atellah said, linking the situation to longstanding grievances within Kenya's health sector.

The KMPDU chief cited the failure to implement Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), delayed salaries and statutory remittances, stalled promotions and inadequate staffing among the issues that have continued to frustrate healthcare workers.

The union said agreements reached between the government and healthcare workers must be honoured, warning that failure to implement signed deals undermines confidence in government.

"Agreements signed with healthcare workers must mean something," Dr. Atellah said.

"A government that negotiates, signs and then fails to implement agreements undermines not only its workforce, but public confidence in government itself."

KMPDU is now calling on the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors (CoG) to return to the negotiating table and conclude a binding, fully funded Return-to-Work Formula with the striking nurses.

The union is also demanding full implementation of signed CBAs, including payment of salary arrears, promotions and other agreed benefits across the 47 counties.

It wants the government to address persistent staffing shortages and delayed recruitment, while also establishing the Health Human Resource Advisory Council (HHRAC) to provide a coordinated framework for managing the country's health workforce.

KMPDU has further demanded that all 47 county governments adjust doctors' basic salaries as previously agreed with the CoG, noting that the adjustment was scheduled for implementation by August 2026.

Dr. Atellah said KMPDU would continue standing with nurses and other healthcare workers in their push for the implementation of agreements reached with government.

"We stand in solidarity with nurses and all healthcare workers fighting for fair treatment and the implementation of agreements reached in good faith," he said.

"Take notice that if the nurses strike is not resolved within the next 7 days, then KMPDU will proceed and issue a strike notice."