KMPDU Applauds Duale Directive, Warns Hospitals Over Exploitation of Doctors
By Peace Muthoka.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has welcomed a new directive by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on the licensing and employment of foreign health workers, saying it could finally curb widespread exploitation in the healthcare sector.
In a statement issued in Nairobi on Thursday, the union said the order signals a long-overdue shift in how doctors are treated in Kenya. KMPDU argued that for years, parts of the medical profession have been reduced to profit-making ventures where labour laws, ethics and human dignity are routinely ignored.
The union said doctors, both Kenyan and foreign, have endured degrading working conditions that have slowly normalised what it described as modern-day slavery. According to KMPDU, the situation has thrived under weak enforcement and deliberate abuse of existing laws.
Over the past four years, more than 3,000 foreign general practitioners have been licensed to practise in Kenya. While KMPDU acknowledged the importance of skills exchange and international cooperation, it said the reality on the ground tells a different story. The union accused some private hospitals of recruiting foreign doctors not to fill skills gaps, but to exploit them as cheap and vulnerable labour.
KMPDU said many of these doctors earn salaries far below rates set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and agreed under Collective Bargaining Agreements. Such practices, the union noted, violate international labour standards that guarantee equal pay for equal work, regardless of nationality.
The union warned that the impact of exploitation goes beyond poor pay. It said hospitals that mistreat doctors also weaken professional ethics and endanger patients. KMPDU linked recent organ transplant controversies to a culture where profit takes precedence over integrity, accountability and patient safety.
Private hospitals also came under fire for allegedly flouting immigration laws. KMPDU said employers must prove that specialised skills are unavailable locally before hiring foreign doctors. However, it accused some facilities of bypassing this requirement despite thousands of qualified Kenyan doctors remaining jobless or underemployed.
Local doctors, the union said, continue to suffer under the same system. Many private hospitals still pay locum rates that fall well below guidelines issued by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. KMPDU stressed that approved day and night locum rates are mandatory professional standards, not optional guidelines.
In response, the union announced plans to roll out a nationwide enforcement campaign targeting both public and private health facilities. KMPDU said it will push for full compliance with labour laws, CBAs, SRC guidelines and professional standards.
The union insisted that every doctor working in Kenya must be engaged under lawful, transparent and dignified contracts. It warned that facilities that fail to comply should prepare for legal and industrial action.
KMPDU Secretary-General Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah said the union will no longer tolerate the erosion of professional dignity in the name of profit.
“The dignity of the Kenyan doctor is not for sale,” he said, as the union vowed to confront exploitation wherever it exists in the healthcare system.
