The aviation workers' strike that disrupted operations at airports across the country for three days has been called off after overnight talks between the Ministry of Transport and Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) officials.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Normal operations are expected to resume immediately after KAWU agreed to call off the strike under a Return-to-Work Agreement reached following an urgent meeting convened by Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir on Monday evening.

The strike had left hundreds of passengers stranded, with flight operations disrupted as air traffic controllers and other staff from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) staged a go-slow.

Among the most affected airports were Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and Moi International Airport in Mombasa, as all airport operations ground to a near halt.

📌 What You Need to Know

In the agreement signed on Monday, August 31, KAWU called off the industrial action and advised all affected workers to resume their normal duties immediately.

“In consideration of the foregoing agreements and commitments, KAWU calls off the industrial action and advises all its affected members to resume normal duties immediately,” the agreement read in part.

Employees were further directed to cooperate with management to ensure the immediate restoration and continuity of normal airport operations.

The workers had been demanding improved welfare, better remuneration, improved working conditions and the implementation of previously agreed employment benefits.

KAWU Secretary General Moses Ndiema said the union had initially agreed to a framework that would allow each employer to address workers' grievances.

“We agreed on a framework for each employer to sit down and handle the grievances. Apart from KAA, the other three refused to address our issues, which forced us to issue another strike notice on Friday,” Ndiema stated.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke