Kenya Airways pilots suspend strike

Kenya Airways Board member Michael Joseph (left) and Kenya Airline Pilots Association Secretary-General Paul Gichinga addressing journalists at KICC in Nairobi on October 17, 2016 where they announced that the pilots union had agreed to suspend its planned strike to allow for talks with the national carrier. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • At a hurriedly-assembled Press conference in Nairobi, Kenya Airlines Pilots Association Secretary-General Paul Gichinga said they were getting back to work to allow more time to iron out issues the association had been demanding.
  • The association had been demanding a change of management at KQ, saying all the current top managers have been implicated in the mismanagement that has brought the airline to its knees.
  • The pilots on their part hinted more on the deal, with Mr Gichinga insisting that it would be the ultimate goal for the managers to go.

The national trade union for pilots on Monday evening agreed to suspend their planned strike that could have paralysed operations of Kenya Airways, following last-ditch interventions that had roped in State House.

At a hurriedly-assembled Press conference in Nairobi, Kenya Airlines Pilots Association Secretary-General Paul Gichinga said they were getting back to work to allow more time to iron out issues the association had been demanding.

“We are asking our members to resume duty tomorrow. We have been meeting throughout the week and there has been goodwill on both sides and we are giving it more time to have the issues resolved,” he said.

It means KQ, as Kenya Airways is known by its international code, can rest easy and its customers assured of regular flights, at least for now.

But the decision to call off the strike was reached following the intervention of State House.

The association had been demanding a change of management at KQ, saying all the current top managers have been implicated in the mismanagement that has brought the airline to its knees.

The target of the pilots has been the chairman Dennis Awori and CEO Mbuvi Ngunze. President Uhuru Kenyatta assigned Solicitor-general Njee Muturi to help reach this deal that would see these two leave.

Before the announcement, Mr Muturi had confirmed to the Nation that his office had taken a lead role to have pilots get back to work, but said it was up to the airmen to announce they had called off the strike.

“We have a return-to-work formula which we have agreed. I expect them to call off the strike,” Mr Muturi told the Nation.

At the Press conference, neither Mr Ngunze nor Mr Awori were present. But former Safaricom Chief Executive Michael Joseph showed up to speak on behalf of KQ board. Mr Joseph was recently appointed to the board of KQ and sources had claimed he would take over as the new Chairman.

“Whatever change that we are going to make, whatever change that we have agreed on is confidential until the board makes those announcements,” Mr Joseph told journalists when asked the details of KQ deal with the pilots.

The pilots on their part hinted more on the deal, with Mr Gichinga insisting that it would be the ultimate goal for the managers to go.

“Our action today was to actually call off the strike to give…but I can assure you we believe that change is inevitable at the Kenya Airways,” he said

The board will meet on Wednesday after which the details may be announced.

Mr Muturi’s, and President Kenyatta’s entry into the saga was occasioned by the failure by Kenya Airways and the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) to meet and agree on issues that had threatened to ground the national carrier.

On Sunday, East African Community Affairs, Social Protection and Labour CS Phyllis Kandie had appointed Dr Justus Nasirembe to chair a Conciliation Committee from the Ministry to handle the dispute between the parties. The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu), and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) had also been invited.

Kenya Airways had been staring at a crisis since Friday last week when cabin crew, outsourced from a firm called Career Directions Ltd (CDL), also went on a go-slow, to protest low pay. Coupled with a pilots’ strike on Tuesday, the Airline could basically be grounded.

On Monday, CDL officials met with their staff representatives following a failed meeting on Saturday.

Still, the two sides could not agree even though CDL offered to negotiate better perks with KQ.

A source told the Nation that the workers had refused to budge even though the company later said they had agreed to work as they discuss a permanent solution.

On Saturday, about 105 cabin crew workers called in sick, taking advantage of the sensitivity of aviation and the strict rules that ill workers cannot serve on flights. This allowed the workers, non-unionised, to boycott work.

As a result, KQ cancelled six flights and delayed two others, citing insufficient staff numbers. Last evening, the Airline issued a statement assuring that it was operating normally.

“We are currently running our schedule as planned,” it said but did not comment specifically on the programme for Tuesday.

KQ outsourced about 500 staff and cabin crew from CDL from 2012 as part of its cost-cutting measures. As part of the deal, KQ deploys them on various flights after which it pays the money to CDL for onward payment to the staff. CDL then charges KQ a ‘handling fee’ which is essentially compensation for the recruitment done by CDL.

However, this group say they earn way below what KQ’s own staff earn.

The airline, in spite of its robust network, reported an after tax loss of Sh26.2 billion in the year ending March. It had recorded a Sh25.7 billion net loss in 2015.

But its results to September this year, showed that the net loss for the period has dropped by 58.3 per cent to Sh5 billion from the Sh12 billion reported in a similar period last year.