Kenya Airways Gets Reprieve Ahead of Inaugural Nonstop Flight to the US

The court has issued a temporary injunction barring the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (Kawu) from ordering Kenya Airways employees to stay away from the much awaited maiden direct flight to the United States.

The decision comes after Kenya Airways, through CEO Sebastian Mikosz moved to the Employment and Labour Relations court seeking to have the airline's staff compelled to offer services on the inaugural flight to New York on October 28th.

The aviation union wants a new Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA) signed between KQ and its employees before the nonstop flights are launched.

” We want the flight to operate, however it can only do so if our members sign a deal to cover the extra working hours,” says Moss Ndiema, the Kenya Aviation Workers Union Secretary General.

The union wants Kenya Airways to agree to give staff working on the direct flight allowances for every extra hour worked among other demands.

“The requirement to negotiate and agree on augmented crew is not of our making, it is in an agreement that binds KQ and ourselves, so what option is there, the only option is one, for us to sit and agree,” Ndiema adds.

In a replying affidavit, the union accuses the national airline of forcing employees to work on the flight beyond the stipulated 15 hours.

“We received management proposals for a flight scheduled for 28th of this month… One of the mistakes is they went ahead to release a roaster for New York, where it indicates members will be doing more than the required 15 hours,” Ndiema says in papers filed in court.