Long queues were witnessed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as demonstrations by the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) commenced.
In videos on social media, passengers were seen stranded at the airport on the night of Tuesday, September 10, with their luggage.
The long lines resulted from the JKIA staff strike, which started at midnight over the Adani Airport Holdings takeover deal.
KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema issued a strike notice on August 12, demanding that the government and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) address JKIA takeover plans.
“We wish to formally notify you that all unionisable employees of Kenya Airways and Kenya Airports Authority shall go on strike after the expiry of seven days from today, 12th August 2024,” read the notice in part.
He explained that the decision was necessitated by KAA’s failure to heed the Union’s demands conveyed via three letters dated August 6, 2024.
KAWU Demands Over JKIA Deal
In the letters, KAWU demanded the immediate resignation of KAA’s entire Board of Directors for their incompetence in presiding over the unlawful intended sale of JKIA.
The Union also demanded the immediate resignation of KAA Acting Managing Director and CEO Henry Ogoye, General Manager of Human Resource Development Anthony Njagi, and General Manager of Engineering Meshack Ochieng Otwaro.
According to KAWU, the three should resign due to incompetence and questionable integrity shown by their involvement in the sale of JKIA to Adani Group of India and their disregard for the rule of law.
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“Our action is further informed by the declaration by Adani in their impugned Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) that upon buying off JKIA, they intend to lay off the majority of employees, bring in non-Kenyans to work on the project, and force the few employees who will survive the purge to accept inferior terms and conditions of service that suit the Indian firm. These facts cut to the core of our members’ terms and conditions of service, and they constitute a breach of their employment contracts,” KAWU said.
For Kenya Airways (KQ), KAWU demanded the immediate resignation of Benard Oganga, Head of Security, and James Kiprono Ng’eno, Security Operations Manager.
“The perception of aviation industry players against these managers is so negative that they have not only lost faith in the duo, but also that their conduct and character continue to dent the image of the company and put it into serious disrepute,” read another part of the notice.
Also Read: JKIA-Adani Deal Whistleblower Claims His Life is in Danger
Why the Strike is On
KAWU was ready to reconsider its intention to engage in industrial action against KQ and KAA if the government abandoned and discarded the Adani Airport Holdings Limited deal.
Additionally, KAWU stated that the KAA Board of Directors, along with the managers named in their demand letters, had to resign for its members to stop the planned strike.
On Monday, September 10, the court stopped deal between JKIA and Adani after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) challenged the looming 30-year lease.
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