KAA, airport staff fight over salaries raise agreement
Kenya Aviation Workers Union on February 4, 2019, at the Kenya Airports Authority offices where they held protests demanding the resignation of the KAA managing director. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NMG
KAA board has proposed to increase unionaisable workers’ salaries by 6 percent yearly from 2016 to 2019.
The move is aimed at preserving cash at KAA. The agency is currently struggling with suppliers debt due to a fall in passenger travels at airports across the country.
Airport workers are locked in a fight with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) over reduced pay increases in the latest standoff set to distabillise operations across major travel facilities in the country.
KAA board has proposed to increase unionaisable workers’ salaries by 6 percent yearly from 2016 to 2019.
The move is aimed at preserving cash at KAA. The agency is currently struggling with suppliers debt due to a fall in passenger travels at airports across the country.
But Kenya Aviation Workers Union (Kawu), which has about 1,800 workers at KAA has rejected the move, arguing that subjecting workers to reduced pay increase is in breach of mutual agreements signed by the two parties.
“Your position that KAA board has given directions that salaries for both management and non-management staff be adjusted by an all-inclusive percentage factor does not even reflect the advice and guidance given by SRC on the matter,” said Kawu secretary-general Moss Ndiema in a letter to KAA managing director Alex Gitari dated 31st March, 2020.
“Such directives will leave employees with no salary increase at all while others will actually get negative increases leading to deductions of their salaries.”
Mr Gitari says KAA board directed management to ensure that salaries for both management and non-management staff are adjusted by all-inclusive percentage factor for the period covering the CBA. He says that it was therefore not possible to revisit the board-approved salary increases to incorporate the element of annual increases as proposed by the union.
