The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is assuring airline operators and travelers that operations will be normal at the country’s airports after court suspended a planned strike.
KCAA Director General Emile Arao says the planned industrial aviation was put on hold by the Employment and Labour Relations court on Friday following an application by the agency.
The agency states that the Court directed that, until the matter is heard and determined, any strike action that may interfere with the Authority’s statutory responsibilities should not proceed.
“KCAA understands that this situation may raise concerns among passengers, airline partners, employees, and the wider public. We wish to reassure all stakeholders that aviation operations remain normal, safe, and uninterrupted,” Arao said in a statement.
The KCAA boss said the Authority continues to discharge its mandate diligently to ensure the safety, security, and efficiency of civil aviation in Kenya while being committed to dialogue.
Arao added that the Authority values respectful dialogue and remains committed to engaging constructively and in good faith through established lawful and consultative mechanisms.
“KCAA firmly believes that sustainable solutions are best achieved through structured engagement within the constitutional and statutory framework governing labour relations,” he added.
Despite the court directives, Kenya Airport Workers Union (KAWU) Secretary General Moss Ndiema, on Saturday, 14, said that all workers in the union at the region’s largest aviation hub will be mobilised for the Industrial action.
“Industrial action is 99 per cent as we speak and we are not asking for impossible things, we are not asking for wealth or richness. For an employee whose pay has not been reviewed for the past 12 or 15 years how do you expect them to leave,” said Ndiema.
Among the concerns the union is pushing to be addressed is the implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreements, salary reviews and placing contractual employees under the pensionable terms.
On Friday, Justice Agnes Nzei of the ELRC in Milimani, Nairobi, certified the KCAA application as urgent and directed that the strike notice served by the KAWU on February 9 this year should not be acted upon until the case is heard.
“Pending hearing and determination of the application inter partes, an interim order be and is hereby issued restraining the Respondent, its agents and servants from declaring a strike which interferes with KCAA’s primary functions towards the regulation and oversight of Aviation Safety and Security, Economic Regulation of Air Services and development of Civil Aviation in Kenya,” the judge directed.
The dispute involves workers at aviation institutions, including Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and national carrier Kenya Airways, with unions accusing employers of ignoring court orders on contract conversions and union recognition.
Ndiema said a key issue is a court directive requiring employers to convert long-serving contract staff to permanent and pensionable terms by December 31, 2025.
“So to anybody and everybody who cares, we are going to have a tumultuous week. I just want to ask you to prepare; it could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be the day after, it could have been yesterday, maybe, just prepare,” the KAWU warned.
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