Government begins paying salary arrears owed to doctors since 2016

The Ministry of Health has announced the release of Sh1.75 billion to settle long-standing salary and allowance arrears for doctors and medical interns, which have been accumulating since 2016.

Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni confirmed the payment on Saturday while addressing residents in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County.

She stated that the government had begun paying the Sh3.5 billion owed to doctors, clearing half of the total arrears.

“We have cleared Sh1.75 billion owed to doctors from the 2016 Collective Bargaining Agreement up to this year. We will continue working closely with them because our health workforce is very dear to us,” Muthoni said.

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She further assured that medical interns would also receive their arrears in their upcoming salaries.

“The government will not deduct money owed to them, as we agreed in our meeting with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU),” Muthoni added.

The move is seen as a step towards addressing grievances raised by healthcare workers regarding delayed payments.

Recently, the government moved to avert a nationwide strike by intern doctors after reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Health and KMPDU.

The agreement, brokered by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, led to the cancellation of a strike initially scheduled for December 22, 2024.

“The government values the expertise, sacrifice, and patriotic input of all our health workers across the country. The health of every Kenyan is a priority for the Kenya Kwanza Administration. We welcome the selfless decision of the doctors to call off the intended industrial action and their willingness to continue engagement with the National and County Governments in the spirit of collaboration, consensus building, and good faith,” Kindiki said in a statement.

The deal, also signed by the Council of Governors, guarantees intern doctors a monthly salary of Sh206,000, as outlined in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah confirmed the development, stating that interns’ salaries have been updated in their payslips to fully reflect the terms agreed upon in the CBA.