Aviation workers issue 7-day strike notice, call for resignation of top KQ, KAA officials

Workers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are now calling for the resignation of the facility's top officials to avert the planned strike next week.

Through their umbrella body, the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), the workers have warned they will only have a sit down with the government if the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) board of directors and other top leaders at the national carrier Kenya Airways resign.

This is on the basis that they have failed to heed their previous resignation demand on a notice dated last week.

The demand had stemmed from the public outcry on the deal to lease JKIA to an Indian private firm Adani.

According to reports, the agreement involved a 30-year concession of the Indian firm to build and operate the airport facilities before eventually transferring them back to the Kenyan Government.

KAWU, however, has faulted the top leaders for their failure to stand up against the proposed lease.

"Our action is informed by Adani's declaration in their Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) that upon buying off JKIA, they intend to lay off the majority of employees, bring in non-Kenyans to work in the project and also force the few employees who will survive their purge to accept inferior terms and conditions of service that suits the Indian firm," KAWU said.

“Don't use the police to cover your incompetence!" Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) say as they present their petition to Kenya Airports Authority. The union is calling for the resignation of the entire Board of Directors and other top leaders at KAA. pic.twitter.com/VdHzCcV2dM

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Breach of contracts

"These facts cut to the core of our members' terms and conditions of service and they constitute a breach of their employment contracts."

For Kenya Airways (KQ) therefore, the Union demands the resignation of Benard Oganga, head of security and James Kiprono Ng'eno, Security Operations Manager on account of gross misconduct, impropriety and lack of integrity.

On the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) side, KAWU says the action is necessitated by their failure to heed the workers' demands for immediate resignation of the entire Board of Directors for their show of incompetence in presiding over the unlawful intended sale of JKIA to Adani Airport Holdings of India.

It says they should have instead exercised prudence and accountability as the custodians of the national asset on behalf of Kenyans.

The union had also demanded the resignation of the general manager human resource development, Anthony Njagi, and the general manager engineering, Meshack Ochieng Otwaro.

It therefore notes that to prevent the planned strike slated for next week, the Adani Airport Holdings Limited's deal should be abandoned in its entirety and the proposal nullified and discarded altogether.

This is together with the other aforementioned resignation demands, failure to which, the union says it will go on with the strike seven days from Monday.