Aviation workers have issued a seven-day strike notice, warning that they could ground Kenya’s airspace if the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) fails to review their salaries and address what they describe as years of labour violations.
If the strike goes ahead, no aircraft would be allowed to land or take off from Kenyan airports, bringing passenger travel, cargo operations, and regional overflights to a halt in one of East Africa’s busiest aviation corridors.
During a union briefing on Tuesday, Kenya Aviation Workers Union Secretary General Moss Ndiema accused the government and KCAA management of indifference and arrogance, saying negotiations collapsed after the authority claimed it lacked funds to increase workers’ pay.
“The government does not care. They are simplistic. They are arrogant,” Ndiema said. “Today they told us point blank that the authority does not have money, that they do not have a budget to review salaries for our members. Employees who have had no increments since 2015 are being told there is no money for any incremental considerations.”
Ndiema said the grievances extend beyond stagnant salaries, accusing KCAA of illegal labour practices by hiring staff on rolling short-term contracts for positions that are clearly permanent.
“Contrary to the CBA and contrary to the law, they are employing people on contracts of three months or six months, then parking them for a month before re-employing them,” he said. “Courts in this country have pronounced themselves again and again that short-term contracts for permanent work are wrong.”
The union also raised concerns over discriminatory treatment of contract workers, particularly female employees whose medical cover is limited to themselves and does not extend to newborn children.
“A female employee on contract employment is given medical cover to self only,” Ndiema explained. “When they give birth, that baby is not covered. If there are complications, KCAA provides no cover extension. What kind of an employer is this?”
The ultimatum leaves the union with no choice but to prepare for industrial action if KCAA fails to provide a “realistic proposal” within seven days.
“We know the consequences. We know the sensitive role our members play in this country,” he said. “But where we are left with no option, we will ask our members to down tools.”
Ndiema warned that a strike could extend beyond KCAA staff to workers across the entire aviation sector.
“We will close the airspace,” he said. “We will ask our members at KCAA, Kenya Airways, Swissport and other aviation service providers to ground everything at JKIA and all other airports.”
Union chairman Walter Ongeri accused KCAA management of unilaterally restructuring the organisation without consulting employees or their representatives, arguing that the changes undermine collective bargaining and misclassify operational staff as managers.
“They made a structure that is not aligned and did not consult the union,” Ongeri said. “You cannot borrow civil service positions and bring them into the aviation sector. Aviation operates differently.”
He added that some employees who tried to join the union were blocked by management, a move he said violates the Constitution.
Several KCAA employees voiced support for the union’s stance, saying they feel disenfranchised and powerless to advocate for better working conditions without proper union representation.
“The Constitution of Kenya is very clear that every employee has the right to join a union,” said Peter Gichuri, a KCAA employee. “When we are blocked, we are left to wonder who is left to fight for us.”
Some staff also warned that unresolved disputes could affect aviation safety, noting that low morale and frustration have begun to influence operations.
As of publication, KCAA had not publicly responded to the strike notice, while the Transport Ministry also remained silent as the seven-day countdown toward possible industrial action began.
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