Kenya Airways union warns of strike as US flights to start

Kenya Airway employees threatened to go on strike unless a pay deal is agreed by Oct. 28 -- the day the carrier is set to begin direct flights to the US. The Kenya Aviation Workers Union said its officials and airline management held a meeting on Oct. 16 to discuss a counter proposal by the carrier that offered no salary increment, according to an emailed statement Tuesday. “Management is proposing a pay cut, in total disregard to immense sacrifices that our members made in the recent past when the airline was in extreme distress,” the Nairobi-based union said. Kenya Airways asked the union to withdraw its strike notice by mid-morning Tuesday and said negotiations on a new collective-bargaining agreement would resume after the “successful” launch of its New York flight. “This action is incomprehensible to management who will employ all legal and disciplinary means available to it in order to safeguard our national airline,” the company said of the planned work stoppage. The US is Kenya’s biggest tourism market and the airline estimates the New York route will boost revenue by 10% in 2019. Kenya Airways expects a load factor of 75 to 80% in first year of flights to the American city and 95% in the following year.<br/>