VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHNR #1730 2300413
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180413Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0676
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RULSDMK/DOT WASHDC
RHMFIUU/FAA NATIONAL HQ WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RHEFHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
UNCLAS NAIROBI 001730
SENSITIVE
DEPT PASS TO DOT FOR CORNELIA (CONNIE) HUNTER
TSA FOR JILLENE MACCREERY, CARLOS DE LA TORRE, AND MIRIAM MOSES
FAA FOR DONNA KRIMSKI
FAA REPRESENTATIVE DAKAR
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR ECON ASEC PTER KCRM KE
SUBJECT: PAY DEAL ENDS TWO-DAY STRIKE AT KENYA AIRWAYS
1. Demanding a 130% pay raise, employees at Kenya Airways (KQ) went
on strike August 14-15. The strike delayed or canceled roughly 90%
of KQ's flights, significantly disrupting both domestic and
international travel out of east Africa's busiest hub. Civil
aviation contacts expect KQ to have worked through the backlog of
delayed/canceled flights by August 19.
2. KQ's management and the Aviation and Allied Workers Union (AAWU)
struck a deal to end the strike late on August 15. The settlement
included a 20% pay increase over two years and additional allowances
(e.g., covering meals). It had reportedly been seven years since
the employees' last collective pay increase. A senior contact at
the Kenya Airports Authority credited Central Organization of Trade
Union Secretary General Francis Atwoli with helping to convince the
AAWU to accept KQ's offer.
RANNEBERGER