KMPDU warns of strike if government slashes intern pay

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Bhimji Atellah has warned of a potential doctors' strike if the Ministry of Health fails to honor the salary agreement for intern doctors.

Atellah, in a post on X on Tuesday, February 18, said doctors would not accept the government's proposed Sh70,000 monthly salary for interns, which he noted contradicts the Sh206,000 agreed upon in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

"Anytime you touch our salaries, you are inadvertently giving yourselves a strike notice as the government," said Atellah.

"Consider it served! Interns, let us meet on February 20. When you call for action, we respond swiftly."

The warning comes after Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa announced during the Health Summit 2025 at the Deputy President's residence in Karen that intern doctors would receive Sh70,000 instead of the agreed Sh206,000.

"The one remaining is the internship component and the conclusion of the CBA, as well as employment of additional doctors to support the implementation of UHC," said Barasa.

"During our meetings in November, Dand ecember, we talked about 206, but for the new cohort, we are talking about 70,000. Negotiations will start to ensure that this is implemented."

The proposed Sh70,000 salary was previously linked to a nationwide strike last year that crippled the health sector for months.

Atellah has accused the government of reneging on the agreement signed on December 19, 2024, during talks overseen by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, he said which brought last year's strike to an end.

The agreement, signed by the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors (CoG) and KMPDU, was meant to secure the Sh206,000 salary for intern doctors.