Kenya Airways pilots went on strike on Saturday morning from 6am leaving thousands of travellers stranded.
The pilots have demanded that KQ restarts contributions to its staff pension fund that was stopped during the pandemic, and the payment of all salaries that were accrued at the time.
The pilots have also demanded the position if Chief Pilot be reviewed, arguing that the current occupant is unqualified for the position.
According to Kenya Airways, the strike will see the national carrier incur losses of up to Sh. 300 million every day of the strike.
Through its board of directors, Kenya Airways says that the grievances that have been tabled by pilots under KALPA do not warrant for a industrial strike at a time when the national carrier is struggling to recover.
KQ froze paying the monthly pension contribution equivalent to 10 percent of the workers’ pay at the peak of 2020 pandemic. The national carrier requires about Sh. 1.3 billion annually for the contributions, with the pilots’ share accounting for about Sh. 700 million.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen termed the KQ pilots strike a sabotage of the economy and unwarranted.
“The government is willing to listen to the issues they are raising but let us do that within the law by first stopping the strike and coming to the negotiating table,” said Murkomen.
“We can’t work illegally…you can’t raise issues about the company and at the same time you don’t want to follow the law.”
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Murkomen spoke after doing a tour of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to asses the damage and impact of the strike on passengers.
“KQ is doing everything possible to assist those connecting to other destinations,” Murkomen said.
A crisis meeting between the Kenya Airline Pilots Asociation and Mukomen yesterday failed to reach a deal, prompting the pilots to kick-start their strike today.
