The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has handed a 21-day strike notice to 17 county governments, saying they have not applied basic salary adjustments that were already agreed, according to The Star, Kenya. The notice was announced on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, and sets a deadline of November 25, 2026, for the money to appear on doctors' payslips. If the adjustments are still missing by then, the union says doctors in those counties will stop working.
KMPDU made the announcement in a post on its official X account and at a press conference addressed by Secretary General Davji Atellah. The union's position is that the affected counties have received the funds and have had months to act.
Why it matters
The dispute is not about a new pay demand. According to The Star, Kenya, the adjustments stem from a return-to-work formula signed on May 8, 2024, which was backed by a court order issued the same day. That makes the standoff a test of whether county governments honour existing commitments rather than a fresh round of bargaining.
It also comes with a split among counties. Atellah said 30 counties have already complied, leaving 17 that have not. A strike limited to those 17 would still affect patients across a wide stretch of the country, from Kiambu and Murang'a in the centre to Lamu and Tana River on the coast and Kajiado and Narok in the south.
What the union says the counties were told
Atellah said the Council of Governors directed counties to implement the salary adjustments at a meeting held on July 22, 2026. He added that the union had already given counties until the end of October to comply before escalating.
"Today, November 4, 2026, we issue a 21-day strike notice to these 17 counties that have not implemented basic salary adjustment," he said, as reported by The Star, Kenya.
The union said the money meant to fund the adjustments was released during the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 financial years, and that the counties concerned had been given three months to put the changes in place.
The 17 counties named
KMPDU listed the counties yet to implement the adjustments as Murang'a, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Lamu, Taita-Taveta, Tana River, Machakos, Makueni, Laikipia, Narok, Kajiado, Embu, Isiolo, Meru and Vihiga.
No new talks, and a warning on side deals
Atellah said the union would not enter fresh negotiations, insisting that counties simply carry out what has already been signed. "We are not ready for any negotiations... County governments must honour their commitments as healthcare cannot operate on broken agreements," he said, according to The Star, Kenya.
The union also cautioned county officials against trying to strike separate deals with its branch leaders, county liaisons or national officials while the notice period runs.
The Star, Kenya reports that Atellah warned doctors in the affected counties would go ahead with the strike if the adjustments were not in place before November 25.
What to watch: whether the 17 counties reflect the adjustments in payslips before the deadline, and whether any of them respond to the union's warning against separate negotiations.
