NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 19 — The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has stated that most doctors employed by county governments are still owed basic salary adjustments, dismissing claims that some members were overpaid following a government verification exercise.
In a statement, the union said a two-day engagement with the government resolved a technical issue concerning a special payroll code required to process the salary adjustments.
The verification exercise involved the State Department for Public Service and National Treasury (DPSN), Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), Council of Governors (CoG), and the National Treasury.
The exercised aimed to determine both the individual salary adjustments owed to doctors and the total financial obligation of county governments.
KMPDU noted that the data presented by government agencies indicated that approximately 95 per cent of doctors are owed salary adjustments, while around 5 per cent were flagged as having been overpaid.
The union rejected the overpayment classification, arguing that routine annual salary increments were incorrectly treated as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) adjustments.
“This position—advanced by the DPSN—erroneously categorizes annual increments as part of CBA implementation. We firmly reject this interpretation, as it directly contravenes the ELRC 2020 judgment,” KMPDU said on Thursday.
Sh450 million
Government estimates had previously placed the total outstanding adjustments at Sh450 million.
However, KMPDU said the balance was revised to Sh330 million following an SRC circular issued in February 2026.
Under a directive issued by the SRC on March 10, county governments have been instructed to implement the basic salary adjustments immediately, include all accrued arrears in the calculations, and apply the special payroll code provided by the DPSN to facilitate payments.
KMPDU said it would monitor compliance across counties and independently verify the figures provided by government agencies.
The union added that while the resolution marked progress, full implementation remains pending, and discussions are ongoing toward a new CBA covering 2025–2029.
KMPDU Secretary General Davji Bhimji Atellah emphasized that doctors are owed not only the principal salary adjustments but also interest accrued due to delays in implementing the CBA.
