They knew , it was coming ! Was this avoidable ? On Fourth November , Kenya Airways had released a statement saying Kenya Airlines Pilot Association (“KALPA”) Planned strike is unlawful ,
Kenya Airways PLC (“KQ”) notes that the Kenya Airlines Pilot Association (“KALPA”) has today announced that they will go ahead with the unlawful industrial action effective tomorrow, Saturday, 5th November 2022, from 06:00 hours.
And the Result ? More than 10,000 passengers were stranded as Kenya Airways pilots went on strike to demand better pay and working conditions. The implications of the industrial action can be seen on the Day-3 as well , passenger inconvenience due to the Kenya Airlines Pilot Association (“KALPA”) is worsening.
After Kenya Airlines Pilot Association (“KALPA”) action , Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) members joined the strike , a kind of rubbing salt to injury , threatening amplification of the chaos already existed.
However , the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) has called off its strike barely a day after it directed its members to withdraw their labour in all areas until Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) implements provisions in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema said that they opted to suspend their action to allow Kenya Airline Pilots Association to resolve their dispute with both KQ's management.
"We called off our action with immediate effect and it will allow all other flights to be facilitated. The only affected airline is KQ. If we had gone ahead and downed tools then this airport would have been closed because all departments would have been grounded."
400 Kenya Airways pilots downed their tools on Saturday, protesting what they termed as neglect of their grievances, which saw about 10,000 passengers affected.
"We backtracked on our decision because it was being construed as KAWU joining KALPA, yet they are striking against KQ but our action is directed towards Kenya Airports Authority (KAA). So that distinction was not coming out very clearly," he said.
Mr. Ndiema however, clarified that they do not support all the grievances KALPA had cited prior to the strike. He affirmed that they will be ready to protest against the ousting of KQ top officials including the carrier's CEO Allan Kilavuka, unless they are invited to the negotiation table on the way forward.
Meanwhile , Allan Kilavuka , CEO - Kenya Airways said ,
"The main cause for the KQ strike is that we owe them a lot of money. "
"If the strike continues for a week, it will cost us KES 2B, and if you extrapolate, it will cost us KES 8B to 10B a month."
KAWU and KAA have had a long-standing standoff regarding payment, resulting in multiple disruptions in aviation operations in major airlines including Kenya Airways.
The strike began after an order issued by the Employment and Labour Relations Court on August 15.
The court order stated that all unionisable employees who shall engage in the withdrawal of labor shall not be replaced, victimized, or harassed and shall not return to work upon the union being fully satisfied with the terms of the new CBA.
Ndiema however has a different view , he defended against the resignation calls aimed at KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka , stating that he has restored KQ on the recovery path.
The airline, partly owned by the government and Air France-KLM, is one of the biggest in Africa, connecting multiple countries to Europe and Asia, but it is facing turbulent times, including years of losses.
The Kenya Airlines Pilots Association (KALPA) said that no Kenya Airways flight flown by its members had departed Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport starting from 6:00 am (0300 GMT) on Saturday.
Among other demands , pilots want the airline to resume contributions to their retirement fund which the airline has halted till 2023.
