Kenya Airways in the clouds for challenging staff return

By Wahome Thuku

KENYA: National carrier Kenya Airways came under criticism yesterday for seeking to have an order to reinstate sacked employees suspended.

The 447 employees accused the company of using the court to delay their reinstatement ordered by the Industrial Court in December 2012.

The order was temporarily suspended by another court in January following a KQ application.

The company, however, defended itself saying it could not sustain the Sh103 million monthly wage bill for the employees.

The carrier has moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge the reinstatement order. They have also applied to have the order suspended pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

They also want all proceedings pending at the Industrial Court suspended until the dispute is fully determined by the Court of Appeal.

Fully determined

However, the employees, through the Aviation and Allied Workers Union, opposed the application saying the appeal had no chance of succeeding.

“It is a frivolous appeal and calculated to delay the day the employees will enjoy the fruit of the judgement,” said the union’s lawyer Stephen Mwenesi.

He added that following the judgement, the airline reinstated the employees but sent them on a 30-day paid leave before moving to challenge the order.

“The judgement was executed, satisfied and discharged,” he told three Court of Appeal judges.

Mwenesi argued that the airline did not notify the employees’ union of its intention to retrench staff as required under the Employment Act, so the termination was unprocedural.

He said if KQ were facing difficulties reinstating the employees, it would have sought negotiations with the union and not try to get the order suspended by the court.

But KQ lawyer Walter Amoko said if the reinstatement order is not suspended, the company would go under due to the higher wage bill.