KENYAN AIRPORT WORKERS THREATEN STRIKE OVER CONTROVERSIAL ADANI LEASE DEAL
The Kenya Airports Authority staff have indeed kept their promise to officially begin their strike that was slated for Tuesday.
They had earlier intended to down their tools on Monday but postponed following an attempt to solve the grievances that proved futile.
Through the Kenya Aviation Workers’ Union, the employees have warned the KAA management to shape up and listen to their grievances by the end of business on Monday.
The strike revolves around the government’s plan to lease JKIA to India’s Adani Holdings Limited.
The employees were allowed to voice their grievances at the KAA head office before being addressed by KAA acting managing director Henry Ogoye.
“Tunafanya testing, testing tuone kila kitu iko sawa before it is all systems go,” KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema said.
“If they do not heed to our demands, we are back here tomorrow,” Ndiema warned. The workers later matched back to their workstations with placards chanting “Adani must go.”
Ndiema applauded the staff, “I am proud of you because of the work you have done today,” he said. “We are making an effort to stop the loss of JKIA.”
He said JKIA rakes in money, and therefore, the money will be used to finance its modernization and expansion.
Ndiema said that if a new investor is to be involved, they should put up and manage a new terminal but not take over JKIA.
“We are not ready to surrender it to anyone. We will continue this daily until Adani goes,” he added.
Ogoye told the workers to hand in memoranda of their grievances by Monday and that she would give a response.
The KAWU had earlier on called off the strike after the government handed over some contract documents regarding the JKIA lease.
KAWU is still opposed to the Adani concurrence and is calling for cessation of further stakeholder engagement.
Ndiema also noted that the union had deferred the strike for the third now after it had given seven days’ notice on August 12 to down tools.
The aim of the strike is to oppose the secretive and purportedly illegal leasing of JKIA that KAWU says could result in massive job losses and misconduct of the security service.
