“Airport workers postpone planned strike by one week”, 31 August 2024

The aviation sector is breathing a sigh of relief after airport workers postponed a strike offering a temporary reprieve from what could have been a major disruption to air travel. Their aim is to prevent government officials from travelling to India for a scheduled due diligence visit and to demand the immediate deportation of Adani Group officials currently in the country. The decision to postpone the strike came after a tense standoff between the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) and the government over the controversial Ksh246 billion Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) takeover deal by the Indian conglomerate, Adani Group. The move followed a crucial intervention by President William Ruto, who met with union leaders and top government officials on Monday, August 26 to address the workers' demands.

According to the office of Moss Ndiema, the Secretary General of the biggest union of aviation workers, the move to postpone the strike to allow for the workers to interrogate the documents related to the deal. The workers made it clear to the government that they would proceed to strike if the government did not honour a pledge to hand the workers all documents associated with the Adani deal for their review. During the five-hour meeting at State House, the President promised to consider the workers’ concerns, particularly their demand for full transparency regarding the JKIA-Adani deal, which has sparked widespread debate and opposition. Workers had raised alarm over the lack of clarity surrounding the Adani Public Initiation Proposal (PIP) assessment report and minutes from negotiations between the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Adani Holdings Limited. Their grievances centred on the fear that the takeover could lead to mass layoffs, foreign dominance of the aviation sector, and a significant financial burden on Kenyan taxpayers.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Adani Group to respond, but the company did not.