In yet another episode of drama at Kenya Airways (KQ), a dispute over "goodwill" - an agreement with KALPA (Kenya Airlines Pilot Association) that requires its pilots to be
voluntarily available to work for certain hours during off time, but within legal limits approved by the Kenya
Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) - that inadvertently led to flight disruptions and cancellations on Saturday, has now been resolved according to Kenyan press reports.
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The dispute arose after a break down in collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the association and airline, culminating in KALPA withdrawing its "goodwill".
In a statement on Saturday, Kenya Airways claimed:
"Due to the shortage of pilots in the country, Kenya Airways has traditionally negotiated an agreement with KALPA that requires its members to be voluntarily available to work for certain hours during off time, which is known as goodwill, but within legal limits approved by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA). The standoff has been caused by a misinterpretation of the rules on working procedures leading to the current disagreement between the Union and Kenya Airways management."
However, Kenya Airways, on Sunday afternoon, announced a resumption of normal flights following the reaching of a deal KALPA, in which goodwill had been restored.
Commenting on the matter, KALPA vice-chairman Capt Paul Njoroge said:
"The many internal issues we had raised were resolved over the weekend and we have resumed normal operations,” said Kalpa vice-chairman Capt Paul Njoroge.
Over the past few months, Kenya Airways has experienced numerous problems with its workforce, most recently, its controversial plan to lay off 600 workers, which even attracted the attention of the Kenyan Prime Minister's Office.