NAIROBI (Reuters) -Kenya Aviation Workers Union on Tuesday gave seven days notice for strike action, demanding the resignation of the Kenya Airports Authority board in response to labour disputes and the fallout from a cancelled airport leasing deal.
The planned industrial action could disrupt operations at Kenya’s main international airport, one of Africa’s busiest aviation hubs.
KAWU Secretary General Moses Ndiema declined to specify when the strike would begin, saying it could start at any time after the notice period had expired.
Kenya Airports Authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Workers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport held a day-long strike a year ago over concerns about a plan to lease the airport to the Adani Group, an Indian company led by one of Asia’s richest people, billionaire Gautam Adani.
Kenya eventually scrapped the proposed deal after the United States indicted Adani and seven others for reportedly paying around $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials, claims the Adani Group has denied.
KAWU Secretary General Moses Ndiema, in a letter dated September 23 and seen by Reuters, accused the KAA board of incompetence and failing to act in Kenya’s best interests.
“The epitome of the board’s incompetence and lack of touch with the reality is the recent events involving the Adani deal and other decisions,” Ndiema said, without specifying the duration of the strike.
(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Hereward Holland; editing by Barbara Lewis)
