Travelers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport can now breathe a sigh of relief after the Employment and Labour Relations Court issued an order stopping the strike by aviation workers at the airport and other airports in the country.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court on Friday issued the court order stopping the strike, which was to take effect on Monday, until the case is determined later this month.
The decision by the Employment and Labour Relations Court comes after the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority rushed to the court and expressed fears of the impending strike by the aviation workers at the airport and other airports across the country.
Justice Agnes Nzei of the Employment and Labour Relations Court certified the case as urgent and directed the strike notice by the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) not to be implemented for the moment.
The case has been directed to be mentioned on the 26th of this month, when the court will make further directives on the case.
Outside the airport, other passengers reacted to the news with a sense of relief, claiming that they had anticipated the worst if the strike was to take place, which would have led to flight delays and cancellations, and long queues at the airport.
Immediately after the court directive, KCAA was quick to release a statement to the effect that everything would be carried on as normal at the airport. The safety of passengers and smooth running of the airport are of paramount importance.
KCAA will continue to engage the union with the aim of coming up with a solution to the problems affecting the employees.
The employees are pushing for better terms of service, a stalled collective bargaining agreement, delayed union dues, and poor treatment of contract employees, who are allegedly undertaking the same job as permanent employees but without the same benefits.
As of the time of going to press, the union had not communicated its next line of action, either to challenge the court directive or to wait and see what will come next in terms of the next hearing of the case at hand.
Planes are therefore expected to fly, and passengers are free to make their own arrangements without fear of a strike, at least until the next decision from the court regarding this case.
