The Kenya Aviation Workers Union and three aviation bodies signed a return to work agreement on Monday, ending a strike that had disrupted flights at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and other airports since August 30.
Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Davis Chirchir chaired the negotiations. Acting Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Director General Nicholas Bodo, Kenya Airports Authority Company Secretary Fridah Mbugua, Jambojet Managing Director Karanja Ndegwa and KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema signed the agreement. Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary General Francis Atwoli and Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection Alfred Mutua witnessed the signing, along with principal secretaries from the aviation and labour ministries.
The agreement orders striking workers to return to their posts immediately. “The employees shall resume their respective duties and cooperate with management to ensure immediate restoration and continuity of normal operations,” the document states.
Deal Resolves Pay and Recognition Disputes
The agreement settles several disputes that built up since July. Kenya Airports Authority will remit agency fees it owes KAWU “with immediate effect,” the document states. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission withdrew earlier guidance on a collective bargaining agreement between KAWU and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and issued new parameters instead. Both sides agreed to proceed with bargaining despite what the document calls the union’s “reservations” about the revised terms.
A separate recognition dispute between KAWU and Jambojet still sits before the Employment and Labour Relations Court. Both parties agreed to await the court’s ruling; Jambojet “is committed to all applicable, legal and procedural requirements” regarding union recognition, the agreement states.
Government Takes Over KAA Leadership Dispute
The agreement also tackles grievances the union raised in a strike notice dated July 20, the same notice Khusoko reported when KAWU first warned of disruption across the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Airways and Jambojet. Under clause seven, the government will handle issues involving Kenya Airports Authority’s top management directly. The Principal Secretary for Aviation and Aerospace Development will arbitrate the remaining July grievances within three weeks of the signing.
A separate letter the union sent to Kenya Airports Authority management explains why earlier talks collapsed. The letter says a negotiation meeting scheduled for August 6 “aborted abruptly before it commenced.” It alleges the authority’s managing director “started by insulting Union officials branding them as ‘ugly, junior and mere Wardens whom he could not share a table with'” and ordered most of the union delegation out of the room. The letter says a follow up meeting on August 7 never happened because the managing director was “attending to other official engagements,” and a written reminder the union sent on August 14 went unanswered. The union also wrote that it had “credible information” that the managing director told colleagues he had “held the Secretary General by his balls” and had “managed to control and silence the Union.”
Kenya Airports Authority has not responded publicly to these allegations. Khusoko has not independently verified them.
Agreement Bars Retaliation Against Strikers
The agreement bars any retaliation against workers who joined the strike. It states that “no employee shall be victimised, intimidated, discriminated against or subjected to disciplinary action on account of participation in the industrial action.” All parties committed to “maintain industrial peace” and to resolve future disputes through negotiation rather than strikes.
Monday’s deal marks the latest in a series of return to work agreements between KAWU and Kenya’s aviation authorities over the past year. A February settlement ended an air traffic control strike, and a July truce broke down before workers walked out again on August 30. Operations at JKIA and other airports are expected to return to normal as passengers who were stranded since Sunday resume their travel.
