By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 6 January 2026 - The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has unveiled an ambitious agenda to secure a fresh Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and accelerate the posting of medical interns across Kenya’s health facilities, intensifying efforts to stabilise the workforce and resolve longstanding tensions in the public health sector.
The union’s plans come after significant gains this past year in salary arrears, promotions and job security for frontline medics, and ahead of expected negotiations on pay, terms and placement frameworks for 2026.
At a press briefing in Nairobi, KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah said the union’s 2026 priorities include implementing wide‑ranging salary adjustments across counties and ministries, seamless intern postings, and finalising the long‑delayed CBA that governs the working conditions of thousands of healthcare workers.
Dr. Atellah highlighted that the union’s programme also builds on the “historic milestones” achieved in 2025, including the rollback of years‑long arrears and the restoration of full CBA‑compliant pay for hundreds of newly posted interns.
The union said that in August 2024, 1,257 interns received full CBA pay with arrears, and that the current group of about 1,750 interns now earns their stipulated salaries from the first month of posting, a major step toward reinforcing workforce morale and fairness in the sector.
Additionally, over 3,100 doctors were promoted across counties, ministries and newly upgraded Level 6 hospitals, while postgraduate training approvals that had stalled since 2017 were resumed, with more than 600 fee approvals already paid.
Doctors have long contested delays and disputes around intern postings and salaries.
An earlier exercise led by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) saw balloting and subsequent posting of medical officers, clinical officers, pharmacists and other cadres to internship centres nationwide, set to begin from July 1, 2025 after months of negotiations with the Ministry of Health.
The push for a new CBA follows a period of protracted struggle between the union and government officials over remuneration levels. At the core of earlier disputes was a proposal by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to cut interns’ monthly pay to between Sh40,000 and Sh70,000, a move the union vigorously opposed, insisting on the Sh206,000 figure rooted in the 2017 CBA, a fight that drew widespread protests and even threatened nationwide strikes.
In 2025, the impasse was largely resolved after union pressure led to the Government posting thousands of interns, over 6,000 in the 2025/2026 cohort, with their placements and remuneration aligned more closely with union demands. KMPDU lauded the government and Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale for what it described as a “tremendous leap forward” for public healthcare, marking a key victory in efforts to stabilise the sector.
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Speaking about the union’s vision, Dr. Atellah said that the next CBA must guarantee not only fair pay but a structured career path for health workers across the profession, including protections for interns, who often serve as the backbone of frontline care in counties and referral hospitals.
He emphasised that the union will also work to ensure placement transparency, predictable deployment cycles and improved supervision, to prevent disruptions in internships and ensure quality training for new health professionals.
Experts note that Kenya’s healthcare system has grappled with systemic challenges, including workforce shortages, uneven posting practices, and payment disputes, that have affected service delivery and staff morale.
Streamlined intern placements backed by a fresh CBA could help address these gaps by ensuring that new doctors, pharmacists, dentists and clinical officers enter the workforce with clear terms and timely postings.
However, challenges remain.
Counties and the national health ministry must continue to coordinate closely to ensure postings are conducted impartially and infrastructure is in place to support interns’ training and service functions.
Past issues, including intern redistributions such as those seen in Kiambu County due to supervision shortages, underscore the need for robust policy and oversight.
As the health sector prepares for CBA negotiations with unions and government representatives, all eyes are on whether the reforms championed by KMPDU will usher in a more stable and motivated workforce, a critical element for Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals.
