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Kenya Airways administration and its pilots have been unable to agree on concessions to finish a strike now coming into its fourth day. In the meantime, pilots are dealing with disciplinary actions and courtroom summons over a strike suspended by a labour courtroom.
The Nairobi Employment and Labour Relations Courtroom issued a summons to officers of the Kenyan Airline Pilots Affiliation (KALPA) to seem in courtroom on Tuesday 8 November “for disobeying Courtroom orders”.
On Monday 31 October, Kenya Airways (KQ) received a courtroom injunction stopping the strike however the pilots’ union voted to press on.
Allan Kilavuka, CEO and managing director of KQ, warned that any pilot participating within the strike “is in contempt of courtroom orders”.
It’s too late for talks. They both come to work to work or we exchange them – Allan Kilavuka, CEO Kenya Airways pic.twitter.com/bCOTdbHLsI— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) November 7, 2022
On Monday 7 November, KQ introduced it’s recruiting new pilots and has began disciplinary motion towards its putting pilots. The airline warned that they may very well be dismissed if they don’t return to work instantly.
Twelve KQ flights shall be flying out of Nairobi on Tuesday 8 November to Addis, Entebbe, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Harare Johannesburg and Dubai.
Offended passengers
Round 400 pilots, members of KALPA, began a 14-day strike on Saturday 5 November. Over the week finish, 56 flights had been cancelled, disrupting the plans of 12,000 passengers. Solely 500 of them managed to get lodge lodging from Kenya Airways.
Joel from Burundi instructed RFI’s Albane Thirouard that he solely came upon that his flight was cancelled upon arriving on the airport for a 4AM flight to Bujumbura.
“There needs to be a minimal of communication. In any case we’re giving them our cash! I even obtained an e mail for the web examine in. Kenya Airways did e book a flight for me on Air Rwanda for the subsequent day however I used to be not knowledgeable beforehand.
“There may be not sufficient folks to clarify what’s going to the 1000’s of passengers on the airport. All people is annoyed.”
Pilots’ calls for
“The aim of this motion is to not take a look at [Kenya’s] new authorities,” the commerce union mentioned.
The KALPA pilots signify 10 per cent of KQ’s airforce. They’re demanding that the month-to-month pension contribution be reinstated as KQ froze funds because the Covid-19 pandemic. They need KQ to implement pay agreements, in accordance with clauses of the Kenya Civil Aviation Rules.
They complain of alleged victimisation of KALPA members. And they’re additionally asking for the dismissal of KQ’s prime management whom, they are saying, are accountable for “mismanagement” of the airline firm.
Kenya Airways is hiring emergency pilots! Share extensively, our subsequent pilot is likely to be in your TL. #IkoKaziKE KALPA pic.twitter.com/TzzangmzGc— PostaMate (@postamate) November 6, 2022
Kenya Airways Board has rejected the calls to step down.
“No quantity of threats or coercions will compel us to ask for any resignation from anybody,” mentioned Michael Joseph, KQ board chairman.
He added that the airline is paying again the deferred salaries and will begin contributions to the provident fund (contractual pension) in 2023.
“Sadly, we can’t do each similtaneously we’re nonetheless paying again our excellent arrears from the Covid interval and maintaining lease funds on our plane,” mentioned Joseph.
The pilots’ union has managed, during the last two years, to freeze KQ’s plans to scale back the variety of pilots from round 400 to 207.
Monetary damages
In accordance with CEO Allan Kilavuka, the “illegal” strike prices round 300 million KES (over €24,000) per day. In per week, he estimates that the losses will quantity to round 2.1 billion KES (over €16 million euros).
“The airline can’t be capable of face up to these losses,” he mentioned.
The Transport ministry mentioned that the motion taken by the pilots “is akin to financial sabotage”.
Kilavuka mentioned that the disruptions attributable to the strike is very large.
“We uplift 250,000 passengers monthly and export over 5,800 tonnes of cargo monthly, together with recent meat merchandise, flowers, electronics, prescription drugs, medication, and tropical fish.
“You may think about the impression it’s going to have on socioeconomic growth,” he added.
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Kilavuka fears that, if the strike continues for a chronic interval, KQ won’t be able to satisfy its monetary obligations, together with paying salaries.
Chest-thumping administration
Kalpa mentioned, on 7 November, that they’ve despatched proposals to each KQ and the involved ministries on each single day since Friday 4 November and once more on Monday afternoon with even additional concessions”.
Kalpa claims that KQ has made no concessions from the proposals they introduced over two weeks in the past. The union added that administration shouldn’t be prepared to satisfy till its members have resumed their duties.
“This isn’t a present of good-faith. The Administration’s ego and chest-thumping is to the detriment of Kenyans at giant,” Kalpa wrote.
The pilots’ union insists that what they’re asking is “throughout the confines of a mutually agreed Collective Bargaining Settlement”.
“We’ve got not requested for improved phrases of service; we solely ask that KQ administration honours agreements already in place”.
Kenya Airways, partly owned by the federal government is one in all Africa’s greatest airways, connecting a number of nations inside Africa to Europe and Asia.
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