KAA says Aug. 19 strike won’t disrupt operations

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said on Friday it had contingency measures in place to prevent a strike by the country’s main aviation union that is set to begin on Aug. 19 from disrupting airport operations.

The Kenya Aviation Workers Union, which represents workers at airports and the national carrier Kenya Airways said it would launch industrial action from Monday over a proposed deal with India’s Adani Airports Holdings to develop the country’s biggest airport in the capital Nairobi.

The union has said it thinks the Adani deal will lead to job losses and bring in non-Kenyan workers, and referred to it in a strike notice as the “intended sale” of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Kenya’s government has said the airport is not for sale and that no decision had been made on whether to proceed with what it called a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the East African travel hub.

“Discussions are ongoing between the Ministry of Roads and Transport; Ministry of Labour and Social Protection; KAA Management; and Kenya Aviation Workers Union to reach an amicable agreement,” the airports authority said in a statement.