This comes after a section of its pilots, under the larger Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) umbrella,
commenced an industrial action on Saturday morning bringing operations at the airline to a standstill.
CEO Alan Kilavuka on Friday advised customers to reach out to the carrier’s customer care centre for direction in regards to the fate of their flights,
following strike threats by the pilots, but the centre’s call lines have been overwhelmed according to KQ.
On Saturday, Murkomen said, “The pilots are young people, they are either my age and below and they should be thinking
about the future of their country and the future of the company and the consequences of their decision to millions of Kenyans.”
The CS went on to say that management had listened to pilots concerns and was willing to negotiate.
“The government is willing to support you in this conversation, but please follow the law, follow the court order, make a decision that makes our country go forward and not backwards.”
He went on, “The strike was unwarranted. The pilots are not employed by the government per say,
even though the state is a shareholder of this company, they are employed by KQ.
KQ has a human resource manual which gives them ways of dealing with their staff, but also the Constitution and
labour laws have ways of dealing with this situation particularly when a strike is illegal, so it is up to KQ to take that decision as KQ.”