The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has started formal talks with the government on doctors' 2025-2029 collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The union says it wants the deal signed by December 2026.

The first meeting with the Ministry of Health's Inter-Ministerial CBA Negotiation Committee took place on October 26 and 27 at a hotel in Mombasa. Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni had invited the union in an October 13 letter. Centralised talks covering doctors employed by all 47 county governments are scheduled for October 29 and 30.

From the streets to the table

The talks mark a change of approach for a union whose last nationwide strike ran for 56 days in 2024 and included street protests and clashes with police. A joint meeting of KMPDU's National Advisory Council and National Executive Council on October 16 resolved to start negotiations immediately rather than issue fresh strike notices, The Star and Citizen Digital reported.

"The lessons of the 2017-2021 cycle have taught us vigilance, preparedness and the absolute power of solidarity," Secretary-General Dr Davji Atellah told members. He described the talks as the union's chance to "secure better terms of service, protect our welfare, and guarantee a dignified working environment."

The 2017-2021 CBA dragged on for years and ended up at the centre of repeated strikes over unpaid arrears, intern postings and medical insurance.

One team for national and county talks

  • The union's council has authorised a single 12-member team to negotiate both the Ministry of Health CBA and the county CBAs.
  • The Council of Governors and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission have approved KMPDU's request for centralised bargaining with all counties, so doctors will not have to negotiate county by county.
  • The ministry has already sent a counter-proposal to the union's comprehensive CBA proposal.

On October 24, union officials also met the chief executive of Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, Dr Zeinab Gura, and the SRC to push for outstanding agreements to be signed.

A crowded health labour calendar

The doctors' talks open as other health worker disputes remain unsettled. Public health officers recently suspended a strike of more than three months to allow negotiations, and nurses at KUTRRH have issued a strike notice.

Atellah asked members to stay united behind the negotiators. "Our health, our rights and our future are non-negotiable," he said.

Neither the ministry nor the Council of Governors had commented publicly on the opening sessions by Wednesday.

Photos: The Standard. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.