Nairobi — Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU)-affiliated aviation staff have suspended their planned industrial strike until Thursday to allow an out-of-court settlement through conciliation talks convened by the Ministry of Labour.

The strike had initially been set to take effect on Wednesday, October 1, after KAWU issued a seven-day notice on September 23, citing grievances ranging from poor governance at the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) board to stalled staff confirmations and unpaid dues.

In an update issued Monday night, the union said the suspension followed a court directive after KAA moved to block the strike.

The court ordered both parties to attend conciliation, which began at the Ministry of Labour on Monday morning and stretched into the evening.

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"Both the Union and management teams attended. The strike has been suspended for only two (2) days to allow conciliation to take place," KAWU noted, adding that the process would resume Tuesday and a report filed in court Wednesday ahead of a hearing on Thursday.

KAWU Secretary General Moss Ndiema had in the strike notice accused the KAA board of incompetence and "loss of faith," citing systemic inefficiencies, lack of foresight, and controversial decisions including the Adani lease deal.

The union further raised alarm over the transfer of the Ground Flight Safety (GFS) department from KAA to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), warning it would trigger redundancies and revenue losses.

Other grievances include failure to confirm over 500 contract employees to permanent and pensionable terms, unpaid overtime dues at Wilson Airport, and stalled CBA processes due to what the union described as the dismantling of the Human Resources department.

KAWU has maintained that unless the issues are conclusively addressed, it will have "no other alternative but to resort to industrial action."