Kenya Airways says pilot strike would jeopardise its recovery

A planned strike by pilots at Kenya Airways would jeopardise the airline’s recovery from the pandemic and would be unjustified, the company’s board said on Wednesday. KALPA, a union that represents more than 400 pilots at the carrier, issued a notice that is set to trigger a strike at midnight on Wednesday over a dispute involving pensions, accrued back salaries and other complaints. “None of the grievances advanced by KALPA merits an industrial strike,” the board said in a statement, adding all pay deals with unions must reflect the company’s effort to return to profit. “It (a strike) will delay and disrupt the financial recovery,” the board added. In a separate statement, Kenya Airways put estimated losses if the strike goes ahead at 300m shillings ($2.5m) per day. KALPA, which has been ordered by a court not to proceed with the strike, declined to comment. Muriithi Nyaga, its general secretary, told Reuters the union would issue a statement when it was ready to. If the strike goes ahead, it will paralyse travel in one of Africa’s key aviation hubs, which serves business and leisure travellers. Kenya Airways ferried an average of 8,000 passengers every day in the first half of this year. The union is demanding the airline restarts contributions to its staff pension fund, stopped during the pandemic, and the payment of all back salaries that were accrued at the time. Like other airlines, Kenya Airways grounded its fleet and deferred pay for workers when the pandemic took hold.<br/>