Kenya Airways (KQ) will restore the workers’ provident fund starting next month, which was a significant concern that led to pilots going on strike last November.
The resumption of the airline’s contribution to the staff provident fund effective March, as communicated by the airline’s chief officer Tom Shivo in a statement, has brought a sense of relief to the hundreds of staff who had been deprived of the benefit due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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.
Airline’s chief officer – Tom Shivo
Late last year, the pilots’ strike, which inconvenienced over 12,000 passengers, was primarily due to KQ’s failure to pay provident funds. The strike exacerbated the challenges facing the troubled national carrier, which has been running losses for years despite the government injecting millions of dollars to keep it afloat. In addition to the non-payment of provident funds, the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (Kalpa) demanded the exit of some board members and executives for alleged governance and leadership failure.
The strike went on for four days until KQ’s management, with support from the national government, reached an agreement with Kalpa. The airline estimates that the industrial action cost at least KES 300 million per day. Prior to the strike, KQ had cautioned that any industrial action could jeopardize its recovery from Covid-19, resulting in losses estimated at KES 300 million daily.
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