Thursday, August 8, 2024 – Services at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are likely to grind to a halt.
This follows the looming strike by Kenya
Airports Authority (KAA) workers over the controversial JKIA deal between
President William Ruto’s government and an Indian company by the name of Adani
Holdings which has escalated tension.
Efforts by Principal Secretary for Transport Mohamed Daghar to defuse the looming strike proved futile, as the meeting ended without an agreement.
The Kenya Airports Workers Union (KAWU) has
called for a general meeting on Saturday, August 10, in Embakasi, where they
plan to issue directives for the strike.
The crux of the dispute lies in the proposed
Ksh246 billion deal to lease JKIA to India’s Adani Airport Holdings Limited.
The agreement includes the construction of a
new passenger terminal and the refurbishment of existing facilities under a
30-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.
Workers fear this deal could lead to job
losses and are demanding the immediate resignation of key KAA officials,
including the Acting Managing Director, the General Manager of Engineering, and
the General Manager of Human Resource Development.
During the meeting at KAA headquarters, PS
Daghar emphasised the benefits of the deal, urging the union to support it.
However, KAWU categorically rejected the
proposal, calling for the government to address their concerns first.
“We don’t believe them. We don’t have faith in
them at all,” Ndiema said, reflecting the deep mistrust
between the workers and the government.
The discontent stems from the possibility that
KAA employees might have to renegotiate their contracts, with the looming
threat of job losses if Adani Airport Holdings wins the bid to manage JKIA.
This prospect has angered the workers, who
issued an ultimatum for the government to clarify its stance on the deal.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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