Kenya Airways pilots return to work, government vows to intensify recovery

The Kenyan government has breathed a sigh of relief following the end of the strike which saw Kenya Airways pilots embarking on a labour protest.

The pilots’ strike led to massive financial losses for Kenya Airways and it has come to an end as the government announced on Wednesday morning.

Kenya Airways pilots embarked on a strike for days and the end comes after a court ordered staff to resume operations in a breakthrough for the beleaguered airline.

According to their union, Kenya Airways pilots downed tools as they demanded the reinstatement of contributions to a provident fund and payment of all salaries stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The walkout has forced hundreds of Kenya Airways flight cancellations and left thousands of local and international passengers stranded since Saturday morning, exacerbating the woes facing the troubled national carrier.

Hours after a Nairobi court on Tuesday ordered the pilots to return to work, the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) said its members would “resume duty” by 06:00 on Wednesday – the deadline stipulated in the court order.

“KALPA members will do their best to restore normalcy to operations,” the union’s general secretary Murithi Nyagah said in a statement on Tuesday.

Kenya Airways pilots affiliated with KALPA launched the walkout at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in defiance of a court order issued last week against the strike, prompting judges to summon union representatives to appear in court on Tuesday.

Media reports in the East African country revealed that Justice Anna Mwaure told KALPA members “to resume their duties as pilots by 06:00 on 9th November 2022 unconditionally”.

Kenya Airways, which is part-owned by the government as well as Air France-KLM, is one of the biggest in the African continent, as it connects multiple countries to Europe and Asia.

However, BusinesssTech Africa has gathered that the airline has been running losses for years, despite the government pumping in millions of dollars to keep it afloat.

The court order was welcomed by the government and the airline’s hierarchy has vowed to intensify efforts to “recover the time, money, and reputation lost”.

Furthermore, Justice Mwaure also ordered the airline’s management to allow the pilots “to perform their duties without harassing them or intimidating them and especially by not taking any disciplinary action against any of them”.

Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has now urged the pilots and the airline’s management “to obey the court order”.

“We regret that the issues at hand were allowed to persist and escalate into a strike,” he said.