Passengers spend night at JKIA as aviation workers strike persists

The travellers, who were scheduled to travel through Kenya's biggest airport, spent the night in the airport lobbies awaiting guidance from airlines.

On Monday morning, a number of airlines were processing hotel transfers for their passengers. 

This is after aviation workers, under the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), began their strike on Sunday, declaring go-slows across Kenyan airports. 

The workers are demanding improved welfare, better working conditions and the implementation of previously agreed employment benefits.

From JKIA in Nairobi to Moi International Airport in Mombasa, operations ground to a near halt on Sunday. 

KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema said members downed their tools at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the Kenya Airports Authority and Jambojet, and would not resume until the union's grievances against all three are settled.

The action follows the collapse of a framework agreement signed on July 27, when Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir convened the union and the four employers named in an earlier strike notice and set a timetable for each organisation to negotiate directly with KAWU.