Although the pilots’ strike is now in its third day, Kenya Airways has resumed flights throughout Africa and to London. Those who have walked off the job at the airline are likely to be replaced by the new applicants.
The airline claims that there are 18 departures today. Addis Ababa, Entebbe, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Harare, Johannesburg, and London are just few of the destinations served by the nine flights that leave from Nairobi.
Strike by KQ pilots continues into third day despite threats to fire them. On Saturday, November 6, the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) declared the beginning of the pilots’ industrial action.
After talks last Friday between pilots and the transport and labor cabinet secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen and Florence Bore broke down, 388 pilots walked off the job. A total of 33 pilots didn’ t show up to work on Sunday.
KQ said today that anyone interested in applying for a pilot position should do so no later than November 18. Over 300 tons of perishable goods had spoiled because of the strike, which impacted 56 flights and 12, 000 people by Sunday.
After KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka allowed pilots 24 hours to return to work, the airline said yesterday that six flights will resume. To clarify, the following flights are confirmed by Kenya Airways for today. Passengers with confirmed reservations will be prioritized on these flights, ” the company said.
The pilots’ claim that the airline’ s management broke a contract with all employees by stopping contributions to a provident fund is at the heart of the labor conflict. The pilots further say that beginning in 2020, KQ unilaterally terminated both employer and employee contributions to the retirement program and never bothered to resume it.
As part of their demand for KQ’ s removal, KALPA has also accused the airline of mishandling the labor conflict by allegedly refusing to engage them in an effort to settle the standoff, for which they have been blamed.
Based on estimates from KQ, the daily strike costs will be around KES 300 million. This amounts to KES 2. 1 billion in one week.
