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Aviation workers' strike to begin next week
Officials of Kenya Aviation Workers Union during a media briefing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on February 9, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Union members plan to paralyse services across all airports in the country beginning next week if their demands are not met.
- The union has also accused the management of placing a section of its employees on contract terms and unfair labour practice.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union has formally submitted a seven day strike notice starting on Monday, which comes after the previous steps to seek attention with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) failed.
The union has announced that among the reasons which have forced them to opt for the strike includes the management issues, which have affected their smooth operation.
This means that the union members are likely to paralyse services across all airports in the country beginning next week if their demands are not met.
Downgraded job groups
The union through its Secretary General Moss Ndiema said that the current Human Resource office holders have downgraded the job groups of union members, hence leading to the pay cut.
“Several job groups held by unionisable employees have been downgraded and assigned inferior pay scales. It is a requirement of the law that any changes to the terms and conditions of the service of unionisable employees, including alteration in grades and the pay structure, must be subject to negotiation and agreement with the union,” Mr Ndiema said.
The union has termed the changes by the management as null and void. The union has also accused the management of placing a section of its employees on contract terms and unfair labour practice.
Officials of Kenya Aviation Workers Union during a media briefing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on February 9, 2026.
At the same time, the union has accused the management of reviewing and developing the authority’s Human Resource Instruments and submitting them for approval by the Public Service Board without involving the union.
“KCAA must scrap the new HR instruments. It must scrap the organisational structure and career progression immediately. If we don’t hold them to account, we will be allowing impunity, people acting outside the law, outside policies, and outside government guidelines.”
The Secretary General has accused the authority of failure to negotiate and conclude the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of 2015 as well as the subsequent CBAs.
“Attempts by the union to persuade the management to restart the negations have been met with frustration, contempt, hollow excuses and demonstrable lack of goodwill,” Mr Ndiema said, adding that the payment of its members have stagnated for the last 10 years amid the growing cost of living which has hit several sectors in the county.
Further, the union has accused authority of refusing to effect union dues deductions for hundreds of employees in KCAA Grade 4 and 5 who have expressed their willingness and exercised their constitutional right to join the union membership.
“The union level of representation is a negotiated item. KCAA management cannot enforce a position on us since constitutionally, the right of association is granted, is absolute and it is only the court of law that can limit it on reasonable grounds.”
