Stakeholders in the aviation industry have accused Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) of denying its employees in the country the right to join domestic and international workers’ union which would ideally lobby for welfare improvement.

Led by Dan Mihadi, General Secretary of Transport and Allied Workers Union (TAWU) Kenya, the representatives claim that the workers in Kenya’s aviation sector are currently working in a deplorable condition.

The top concerns are low pay, safety issues for ground handling workers, and lack of leave days, with TAWU saying they are ready to engage employers in collective bargaining.

The workers further face a number of issues ranging from occupational health and work-related pressures and decision by the Authority to subcontract some of their labour.

TAWU now want the concerned government ministries and other related departments to intervene to end the impasse. It currently has over 28,000 members in Kenya drawn from air travel agencies, cabin crew, civil aviation, local and internal airlines, and ground handling service providers.

“It is on the basis of the global framework agreement that the Transport and Allied Workers Union after the meeting with shop stewards from various sub-sectors of air transport calls on the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Transport to collaborate with the union in finding lasting solutions to addressing decent work deficits in the aviation sector,” said Mihadi.

TAWU, under the umbrella of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), and International Labour Organization (ILO) have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the global unions to ensure international labour standards.

The Union, in collaboration with the International Transport Workers Federation, is on a massive recruitment campaign to ensure all aviation workers become members.