- This is a relief to hundreds of staff who had missed the benefit since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic
- The strike exacerbated the woes facing the troubled national carrier, which has been running losses for years
Image: FILE
Kenya Airways (KQ) will reinstate workers' provident fund starting next month, a key issue that saw pilots down tools last November.
This is a relief to hundreds of staff who had missed the benefit since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement seen by the Star, the airline's chief officer Tom Shivo told workers that the firm's contribution to the staff provident fund will resume effective March.
"The carrier will, however, not be obligated to backdate payments that were stopped during the suspension. The employer and employee rate of contribution will also remain unchanged at 10 per cent of the basic salary,'' Shivo said.
Non-payment of provident funds by KQ was the main reason pilots went on strike late last year, inconveniencing at least 12,000 passengers.
The strike exacerbated the woes facing the troubled national carrier, which has been running losses for years despite the government pumping in millions of dollars to keep it afloat.
The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) also wanted some board members and executives to exit for alleged governance and leadership failure.
The strike lasted four days before KQ's management, with support from the national government brokered a deal with Kalpa. The airline estimates that at least Sh300 million was lost per day as a result of the industrial action.
Before the strike, KQ had warned that industrial action could jeopardize its recovery from Covid-19, resulting in losses the airline estimated at Sh300 million a day.