Kenya Airways (KQ) CEO Allan Kilavuka has given striking pilots 24 hours to return to work or face disciplinary action.
On Saturday, management said it had spent five hours with all stakeholders on Friday, trying to unlock the stalemate to no avail.
“This illegal strike has really impacted our business… The impact on the economy is significant. We’re going to lose Ksh300 million everyday.,” Kilavuka said.
“What the pilots are doing is spitting on the faces of taxpayers. KALPA is inciting pilots from the comfort of their bedrooms.”
Meanwhile, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen has termed the Kenya Airways strike unwarranted and illegal.
Pilots, under the larger Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) umbrella, commenced industrial action on Saturday morning, bringing operations at the airline to a standstill.
Murkomen said, “The pilots are young people, they are either my age and below and they should be thinking about the future of their country and the future of the company and the consequences of their decision to millions of Kenyans.”
The CS went on to say that management had listened to pilots concerns and was willing to negotiate.
“The government is willing to support you in this conversation, but please follow the law, follow the court order, make a decision that makes our country go forward and not backwards.”
He went on, “The strike was unwarranted. The pilots are not employed by the government per say, even though the state is a shareholder of this company, they are employed by KQ
“KQ has a human resource manual which gives them ways of dealing with their staff, but also the Constitution and labour laws have ways of dealing with this situation particularly when a strike is illegal, so it is up to KQ to take that decision as KQ.”
