PAY DEAL ENDS TWO-DAY STRIKE AT KENYA AIRWAYS

UNCLASSIFIED,FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 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