End labour dispute to avert aviation crisis

It is high time the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (Kawu) reached a reasonable settlement of their longstanding dispute over salary increases.

The two parties have differed on how to implement a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the 2016-2019 period.

The KAA prefers to stagger the increments over the three years, a proposal that has not gone down well with the union.

In the latest round of legal battle, the KAA has once again gone to court seeking intervention against the planned industrial action that had been delayed to allow it to conclude talks with the union.

The Labour court had given the authority 10 days to conclude negotiations, failing which it would allow workers to go on strike.

The period lapsed Tuesday without a settlement, raising questions about the commitment of the KAA, Kawu and the Labour ministry to resolving the dispute.

There is no doubt that the country is in an economic crisis and that the cash-strapped KAA is struggling, given that it had sought a bailout from the Treasury.

However, this is no excuse for both the KAA and Kawu to reach an agreement that will spare the country an aviation crisis like witnessed in Europe.

It has taken time to build the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as a major regional hub where transit passengers use the facility to connect flights to either the US, Britain, or the Middle East. Any disruptions, especially occasioned by preventable issues, will be a significant blow to its status.