KQ says it’s yet to receive pilots’ go-slow notice as 7-day quit ultimatum looms

Kenya Airports Workers Union secretary-general Moss Ndiema during a press conference in support of the Kenya Airways management. The union said pilots should share responsibility for the airline’s downfall. PHOTO | FILE 

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI, pmutegi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The pilots on January 20 gave KQ’s chief executive and directors a week to quit failure to which they would commence unspecified action.
• KQ’s chief executive officer Mbuvi Ngunze on Monday said that the national carrier is yet to receive any “threat given to withdraw goodwill” from its pilots, adding that they are engaging them.

National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) says its pilots have not issued a seven-day management overhaul ultimatum even as the deadline nears.

The pilots, through their umbrella body the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa), on January 20 gave KQ’s chief executive and directors a week to quit failure to which they would commence unspecified action.

The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (Kawu) mONday came out in support of KQ’s management, claiming the pilots lacked the mandate to force a regime change.

KQ’s chief executive officer Mbuvi Ngunze told the Business Daily that the national carrier is yet to receive any “threat given to withdraw goodwill” from its pilots, adding that they are engaging them.

“They are our employees and we continuously engage both as a union and as staff,” said Mr Ngunze in an email response.Mr Mbuvi added that they would assess the need to make flight schedule changes “as and when” a go-slow materialises.

The government, which owns a 29.8 per cent stake in the loss-making airline, on Monday held discussions with KQ chairman Ambassador Dennis Awori and Kalpa secretary general Paul Gichinga.

Transport secretary James Macharia called the meeting to try to mediate between the two warring parties in an attempt to forestall a looming strike that could lead to massive flight cancellations or delays.

Kalpa last Wednesday stated that “ineffective management” had caused the airline to report a Sh27.5 billion net loss for the year to March 2015 hence their call for the sacking of all directors, including Mr Ngunze.

KQ has approximately 500 pilots, a majority of whom are Kalpa members.

Alex Mbugua (chief finance officer) Rick Sine (fleet director) and Gerard Clarke (commercial director) have so far been sent packing as part of a government push to re-jig the airline’s operations.

READ: KQ sends finance boss home, retires fleet chief

The Kawu, a union of about 10,000 -- a quarter of whom are KQ employees excluding pilots --, on Monday came out in support of the ongoing restructuring at the airline.

Moss Ndiema, the union’s secretary- general, said the airline’s pilots should bear part of the burden of KQ’s declining profitability due to their “high pay despite poor productivity.”

“Kalpa and their members cannot escape blame for grossly unattainable collective bargaining agreement demands that have skewed the wage bill in their favour despite low productivity,” Mr Ndiema said in a press conference.

“Their frequent withdrawal of goodwill has been cited as a contributory factor to flight cancellations that have forced disgruntled KQ passengers to migrate to other reliable carriers.”