Airport workers in Kenya have given notice of a nationwide strike, raising the risk of major disruption at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, a vital hub for East Africa.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) said on Tuesday it had issued a seven-day strike notice, accusing the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) board of incompetence and demanding its resignation.
“The epitome of the board’s incompetence and lack of touch with reality is the recent events involving the Adani deal and other decisions,” said Moses Ndiema, the union’s secretary general, in a letter dated September 23 and seen by Reuters.
Mr Ndiema declined to give an exact date for when the strike would begin, saying only that it could start at any point after the notice expires.
The KAA board has not responded publicly to the union’s demands.
This is not the first standoff between airport workers and authorities. A year ago, staff at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport staged a day-long strike over a proposed plan to lease the facility to India’s Adani Group.
The deal, led by billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, was eventually scrapped after the United States indicted Mr Adani and seven others for allegedly paying $265 million in bribes to Indian officials. The Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing.
The dispute has fuelled growing distrust among aviation workers, who say their concerns over jobs and national interests have been ignored.
If the strike goes ahead, it could paralyse operations at Kenya’s busiest airport, which serves as a gateway for millions of passengers and cargo flows across Africa.
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