The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Kenya has said that the Ministry of Transport is not equipped to mediate over strikes.
They said, concerning the strike by Kenya Airways pilots, that although the issue is in the transport sector, the Ministry of Transport cannot mediate.
“Matters strikes and industrial disputes are within the mandate and prerogative of the Ministry of Labour,” they said in a press statement.
COTU’s Deputy Secretary General, Benson Okwaro, read the statement to the press on Monday.
“The ministry involved does not have the much-needed understanding of our industrial relations and how industrial disputes are solved,” he said.
He said the government has failed to initiate proper dialogue with both parties in this dispute.
“We call upon the Management of Kenya Airways and the Government through the Ministry of Labour to have a constructive social dialogue with the aim of finding a sustainable solution,” he said.
He said the sorry state of industrial relations affairs in the aviation sector should be resolved with urgency.
He also said that from their several engagements with the Kenya Airlines Pilots Association (KALPA), it is becoming clear that dialogue is not being given a chance.
“Kenya Airways is part of the team that can help sustain the economic problem that we are in, post-Covid-19. Therefore, we cannot sit down and let it wallow in troubles,” he said.