Aviation in the East African Community bloc may suffer interuptions following a planned seven-day strike expected to kick off today (Monday) in Kenya.
Moses Ndiema the Secretary General of Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) has announced an intended strike to protest the planned leasing of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to a private operator.
Ndiema said the union will present a seven-day strike notice on Monday to oppose the planned public-private deal between JKIA and Indian firm Adani Airport Holdings Ltd.
“On Monday we will be serving KAA and all organization within the aviation sector a strike notice. Last week we gave the government seven days to meet our demands. We don’t intend to launch a strike on Monday. But we will pull our members out of work for purposes of delivering the strike notice,” he said.
The unions said the scheme will form part of its demands in a formal strike notice alongside other issues including effecting management changes at the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Kenya Airways.
Ndiema claimed that the privatization of the airport will result to unemployment claiming Adani has plans to scale down workforce at the facility.
“Adani wants to take over the entire ground handling operations, which again will occasion job losses. They want to dilute terms of employment,” Ndiema said.
KAWU’s move comes amid mounting concerns over the proposed Adani deal.
On July 23, demonstraters staged an “Occupy JKIA” in response to public outcry over reports that the government had “sold” the airport to the Indian company.
The government however allayed the fears stating it was considering a public-private arrangements to modernize the international airport to enhance passenger experience and increase traffic.
