The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) declined to sign a return-to-work formula, prolonging the impasse between physicians and the government. 

Key points of contention that advanced the dispute were the terms of service, promotions and designations, and the delayed posting of interns, according to a statement dated May 5. 

 In response to the postponed internship posting, KMPDU requested that the interns be posted in accordance with the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was signed in 2017, with a gross salary and allowance of Kshs. 206,000.

The government has stuck to its plan to post the interns in accordance with the March 13, 2024, Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) circular, which suggests paying them Kshs. 70,000.


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KMPDU maintained that the unilateral SRC circular dated March 13, 2024 is superseded by the 2017 CBA. 

On the terms of service, KMPDU wanted the counties to convert all contract employment to permanent and pensionable while the government agreed to harmonise salaries as per SRC but remained non-committal on a timeline for harmonisation and conversion of contracts.

Regarding promotions and redesignations, KMPDU requested that the state promptly implement any outstanding promotions and, within ninety days, reallocate all consultants to job group Q in accordance with the Schemes of Service. 

The government promised that all employers in the public sector would begin offering promotions within 30 days, but it gave no timeframe for completion. 

The government promised to increase the number of doctors posted, but it did not specify how many more. 

Regarding the completion dates for redesignations and promotions, they couldn't agree.


They both agreed on a number of issues, such as negotiating a new CBA, funding postgraduate education, and offering an improved medical plan. 

The impasse is set against the backdrop of a more than 50-day strike in which medical professionals have vowed to stay off the streets until their demands are met by the government.