Section of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Safety and Security operations department workers under Aviation and Allied Workers Union stage protest at the airport on April 6, 2012 demanding 30 percent annual salary increase. Photo/BILLY MUTAI
By BENJAMIN MUINDI bmuindi@ke.nationmedia.com and PHILIP MUYANGA pmuyanga@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, April 7 2012 at 22:30
Posted Saturday, April 7 2012 at 22:30
The management of the Kenya Airports Authority and union officials were last evening in a meeting meant to end a strike that entered its second day on Saturday.
But, by the time of going to press, an agreement had yet to be reached between the two parties, although KAA said that it was ready to negotiate with the Aviation and Allied Workers’ Union that called the strike on Friday.
“We were ready for talks even before they called the strike,” KAA Communications Manager Dominic Ngigi said at the start of the meeting, held at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
But union officials led by secretary-general Nicholas Baraza maintained that they had to be offered a 25 per cent pay increase to call off the strike.
He had earlier led employees to another meeting at the Central Organisation of Trade Unions offices in Nairobi.
However, operations at airports went on after KAA employed the services of police officers to screen passengers.
According to Mr Ngigi, “the number of striking workers was negligible as others resumed duties”, but the union maintained that 1,300 workers had downed their tools.
But at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport, employees said the strike posed serious security concerns as there was no competent rescue team in place.
They said deployment of fire fighters from the Municipal Council of Mombasa was contrary to international civil aviation rules as they are not trained on issues relating to airlines.
A shop steward at the airport added that a section of the facility’s perimeter wall had been vandalised, further affecting security. However, Administration Police officers were shown around the airport before being deployed to beef up security.
The airport’s employees, who spent the better part of yesterday under tree shades talking, urged the management to embrace dialogue with their union for a speedy resolution of the strike.
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