NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 10 – Aviation workers have issued a seven-day strike notice to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), citing a stalled Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), job downgrades, and the placement of some employees on contracts that have resulted in salary cuts.
The strike notice, which took effect yesterday, also lists concerns including alleged defiance of court orders on employee contract renewals, anti-union practices by KCAA management, and refusal to deduct union dues for staff in Grades 4 and 5.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) says KCAA has failed to negotiate any subsequent CBA beyond the 2015–2016 agreement, whose talks stalled at the end of 2016.
“Apart from the 2015–2016 CBA whose negotiations stalled towards the end of 2016 due to the management’s refusal to engage without any justifiable reason, there are five other CBA cycles that remain outstanding,” KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema wrote in a letter to KCAA Director General Emile Arao.
He said repeated attempts by the union to restart negotiations had been met with frustration, contempt, hollow excuses, and a lack of goodwill from management.
“The consequence of your actions is that the terms and conditions of service for unionisable employees of the Authority have remained unreviewed and stagnant for over ten years,” Ndiema said.
The union also accused KCAA of refusing to effect union dues deductions for hundreds of employees in Grades 4 and 5 who have joined KAWU, despite being formally notified.
“Despite the Union submitting the requisite statutory Form S duly signed by the affected employees, Management has refused to comply with Section 48(3) of the Labour Relations Act, which requires implementation within thirty days,” Ndiema said.
He added that the refusal violates employees’ constitutional right to join a trade union under Article 41(2)(c), noting that repeated appeals to management to comply with the law had been ignored.
Another unresolved issue raised by the union is the prolonged retention of employees on contract terms despite serving KCAA for extended periods.
“Worse still, management has perfected the unfair labour practice of terminating contract workers and re-engaging them after a break in service, with the apparent objective of exploiting labour by placing them on inferior terms compared to their counterparts on permanent employment performing similar roles,” Ndiema said.
He argued that the continued use of contract and temporary employment denies affected workers the right to decent work, equal pay for work of equal value, and fair labour practices.
Last month, KAWU issued a fresh strike notice following the collapse of court-ordered mediation talks, citing unresolved key demands, including a long-overdue pay rise.
The union has given the government and KCAA seven days to resolve the dispute, warning that failure to do so will result in a nationwide shutdown of aviation operations.
