Nairobi — 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.
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.
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, defended against resignation calls aimed at KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka, stating that he has restored KQ on the recovery path.
