Court orders winding up of aviation workers union

One of the aviation industry’s largest trade unions is facing disbandment, following a court finding that it was illegally registered to represent workers.

The directive by Labour Court judge Nduma Nderi has thrown a spanner in the works for an industry that is grappling with acute labour unrest, which has on several occasions crippled the operations of national carrier Kenya Airways.

The judgment, delivered on December 2, ordered the Registrar of Trade Unions to deregister the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (Kawu), which represents about 2,500 workers.

The directive has since seen the Registrar of Trade Unions Elizabeth Gicheha write to the government printer asking him to publish a notice cancelling Kawu’s registration, though the gazette notice is yet to be published.

Kawu’s deregistration comes after a two-year legal dispute with rival Aviation and Airport Services Workers Union (AASWU) in a legal duel where AASWU opposed the 2013 registration of Kawu.

AASWU argued that the registrar had contravened the law by failing to consult the National Labour Board before registering the new union.

It was also argued that the Registrar of Trade Unions was aware of the fact that some of Kawu’s officials were already “members and officials” of AASWU.

Besides, AASWU argued that the entry of a similarly named union in the aviation sector was meant to scuttle its membership and interfered with collective bargaining agreements it was negotiating.

Justice Nderi found that the Registrar of Trade Unions ought to have consulted the National Labour Board before registering a rival union, and that the decision had caused great harm to the aviation industry.

“…it is wrong for the registrar to second guess the National Labour Board and to avoid to consult or take advice from it before making an important decision such as the one he made to introduce a new union in the aviation sector without considering whether there was room for demarcation or not,” wrote Justice Nderi.

The judge further noted that the existence of the two named trade unions, targeting the same bracket of employees, had led to “immense” confusion in the aviation sector and that persistent disputes between the two unions have been harmful to industrial relations in the industry.

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“It is not far-fetched for the court to observe, and rightly so, that the sector has not enjoyed industrial peace due to the intense rivalry between the two unions and internal wrangles within each of the unions to the loss and detriment of the unionisable employees,” he wrote.

Kawu had opposed AASWU’s petition and questioned the evidence proffered, arguing that the appeal had not been filed in court within the legally mandated timeline.

It was also alleged that AASWU had missed its window to object to Kawu’s registration following a call for public comments in a September 2013 gazette notice.

On the other hand, the office of the Registrar of Trade Unions had defended its decision to register Kawu, arguing that it was bound by constitutional provisions that give people the freedom of association and allow workers to form unions.

The registrar also reckoned that seeking the Labour Board’s advice is not mandatory under the law.

William Langat was the Registrar of Trade Unions at the time of Kawu’s registration.

Kawu and AASWU have previously engaged in court battles over representation of Kenya Airways employees as well as the collection of agency fees. 

For instance, in a 2014 case AASWU challenged a wage review agreement signed between Kenya Airways (KQ) and Kawu.

More recently, Kenya Airways (KQ) has suffered episodic labour crises as its employees demand better terms against the backdrop of the airline’s poor financial performance.

Last week, the carrier’s engineers went on a go-slow demanding better pay, reinstatement of allowances and management changes.

In October, Kawu was at the centre of another labour dispute between KQ and its employees.

The union promised industrial action unless the airline improved the working conditions of 1,000 non-contracted and non-unionisable workers. The warning came at a time KQ pilots had also issued a strike notice.

While the pilot’s strike was averted, operations were frustrated as the 500 contract workers went on a go-slow, demanding permanent and pensionable terms.

Kawu also represents workers in the aviation industry. Last year, the union signed a collective bargaining agreement with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).

Court documents show that AASWU has an existing collective bargaining agreement with the employees of KQ.

A September 2016 gazette notice by Labour secretary Phyllis Kandie did not recognise AASWU as one of the trade unions affiliated with the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu).

However, another trade union, the Kenya Aviation and Allied Workers Union is recognised as a Cotu affiliate.