The Kenya Aviation Workers Union has threatened to call a strike over a proposed deal with India’s Adani Airport Holdings to develop Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) over fears it could lead to job losses.
The airport workers union published a notice of strike action Monday that alleged the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Kenya Airways had failed to heed to its demands surrounding an alleged sale of JKIA to Adani.
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Union Secretary General Moss Ndiema also repeated claims that Adani intended to lay off the “majority of employees” and replace staff with non-Kenyan workers if the sale was to go ahead, though KAA has previously stated that no jobs were at risk under the investment proposal.
Adani’s proposal was first announced in July and laid out plans for the construction of a new passenger terminal building and runway, and the refurbishment of existing facilities at the airport, which serves the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
The public private partnership plan was welcomed by the Kenyan government, which said the airport was in need of urgent upgrades as it was already operating beyond its capacity and served as a “national embarrassment.”
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By GlobalData
The government said that plans were expected to cost around $2bn, beyond its financial capabilities, and it would ensure safeguards were put in place to protect local interests if the deal with Adani was approved.
Despite this, the aviation union accused KAA of conducting the deal illegally and called on the authority’s entire board of directors to resign over the issue, as well as two members of Kenya Airways’ leadership over a raft of issues.
Ndiema said the union would only call off the strike action scheduled for 19 August if the deal was “abandoned in its entirety” and all the KAA and Kenya Airways members mentioned in its letter resigned.
The dispute between the union and Kenyan authorities is emblematic of the tensions between the public and governmental bodies in the country, which has seen large-scale protests in 2024 over proposed tax plans and the rule of President William Ruto.
Strike action could also threaten to majorly disrupt the country’s air travel business while the African aviation industry seeks to accelerate its growth with the support of international associations including IATA’s Focus Africa initiative.
