The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has announced plans to transition from agitation to structured negotiations with the national and county governments in a renewed push to secure the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
In a statement, KMPDU Secretary General Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah said the union’s leadership resolved to pursue structured dialogue during a joint National Advisory Council and National Executive Council meeting held on October 16, 2026.
The announcement comes as the Ministry of Health prepares to begin negotiations with the union following the submission of a counter-proposal to KMPDU’s CBA demands.
In a letter dated October 13, 2026, Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni Muriuki informed the union that the ministry had constituted an inter-ministerial negotiation committee to engage KMPDU on the 2025–2029 agreement.
The committee invited the union to an inaugural meeting scheduled for October 26 and 27 at Mombasa Beach Hotel in Mombasa.
Atellah said the union’s National Advisory Council had mandated its negotiation team to handle both the national and county governments’ CBAs, with the aim of concluding the agreements by December 2026.
KMPDU also announced progress towards centralised negotiations covering all county governments after the Council of Governors and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission granted the union’s request for a unified negotiation framework.
The union said it had communicated the names of 12 representatives who will participate in the county-level negotiations, with the talks scheduled to begin on October 29 and 30.
Atellah said the union was approaching the negotiations with lessons drawn from the 2017–2021 CBA cycle, which he described as a period marked by difficult battles, sacrifices and sustained solidarity among doctors.
He urged members to remain united behind their negotiating teams, saying the current process presented an opportunity to secure improved terms of service, protect healthcare workers’ welfare and promote dignified working conditions.
The union’s leadership has expressed optimism that the structured engagement with both levels of government will help resolve outstanding issues and deliver a new agreement within the set timeline.
KMPDU says it remains committed to pursuing the negotiations while safeguarding the rights and interests of medical practitioners, pharmacists and dentists across the country.
