Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) employees have threatened to paralyze normal operations in the aviation sector beginning Wednesday unless agreed salary increment is implemented.

Through the strike notice issued on April 26, 2022, the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) accuses KAA of failing to meet the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiated by the Salaries  and Remuneration Commission (SRC) entitling them to a 13.5% annual salary increment and house allowance.

“The action is necessitated by the Authority’s failure to conclude and implement the 2016-2019 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which was negotiated and agreed with the union in 2019,” said Moss Ndiema, KAWU Secretary General in the letter.

KAWU accuses KAA Director General Alex Gitari of changing terms of the CBA negotiated by CBA on April 25, 2022 resulting to the standoff.

“SRC provided their advice on December 13, 2019. Sadly owing to the change in management when the new managing director took over, he disowned almost everything that we had negotiated and agreed and he started revising the process. Because of that we have been unable to conclude the CBA,” said Ndima.

According to KAWU, KAA staff has not had their terms reviewed since 2016.

A case in point is the house allowance which was adjusted from Kshs. 26,000 to Kshs. 35,000 which SRC had given a green light.

Ndiema says the industrial action which will commence after the elapse of the seven –day strike notice on Wednesday has also been triggered by the lack of Ministry of Labour to act on the dispute.

The workers have threatened to paralyze operation of all KAA-managed airports and airstrips across the country until their demands are met.

By Fred Azelwa.