A looming strike by airport workers is on hold for two days following a court directive for conciliation talks.
The court on Monday directed the Kenya Airports Authority workers and the airports management to appear before the Ministry of Labour on Tuesday morning for the talks.
Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) management are then required to file a conciliation report in court on Wednesday, October 1. A court session will be held on Thursday to deliberate on the arising issues.
KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema told journalists that the union issued a seven-day strike notice after a meeting with KAA failed to bear any fruit on contentious issues.
‘Unfortunately, we have not been able to resolve any issue, not even one,” Ndiema said pointing to the list of seven demands by the workers.
Among its seven “irreducible minimums” and grievances, KAWU lists unresolved Collective Bargaining Agreements, delayed confirmation of workers to permanent and pensionable status, and the transfer of the Ground Flight Safety operations from the KAA to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
KAWU is also protesting the dismissal of a Human Resource Manager by the KAA board. The KAA suspended a planned meeting in Naivasha which aimed to deliberate on human resource instruments.
Operations at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and other KAA operated airports are expected to continue as usual for the next two days pending the outcome of the conciliation meetings.
Failure to reach an agreement will see aviation workers embark on a strike which will affect all Kenyan airports under the Kenya Airports Authority.
