This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
Kenya Airways pilots are at a crossroads as they prepare to decide whether to call for industrial action against their employer. The move comes after a seven-day notice to stop hiring contract pilots for the Boeing 737 lapses.
At the center of the dispute is the airline's decision to recruit 20 contract pilots, a move that has been met with resistance from the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa). Kalpa General Secretary Murithi Nyaga wrote to the airline last Thursday, seeking to stop the recruitment of the contract pilots, terming the move illegal.
According to Nyaga, the airline's decision to hire contract pilots is a breach of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and reflects the management's attitude towards agreements. "The association has taken note of the callous nature of the intent to forcefully recruit 20 contract pilots on the B737. Kindly take note that the management action is in breach of an existing memorandum of agreement on Kenyanisation and Clause 37 of the collective bargaining agreement," Nyaga said in his letter to Kenya Airways Chief Human Resources Officer Evelyn Munyoki.
The airline, however, argues that the contracts will result in great benefits, including allowing pilots to take up much-needed leave and accelerating the movement of 10 pilots to the B787 to cover that fleet's requirements and five projected retirements in 2020.
Kenya Airways has been at loggerheads with its pilots since it emerged that it spends close to Sh5 billion annually on the cost of cancelled flights, with Kalpa saying the members are not to blame.
Published on September 18, 2019
