Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli on Wednesday exposed former Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen over what he termed as ignorace.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where aviation industry workers were staging a protest over the Adani takeover deal, Atwoli revealed that Murkomen ignored his calls. This, Atwoli said caused the whole situation to boil over as players in the industry felt that their concerns were not being heard.
Atwoli claimed he was calling Murkomen to educate him on the approach he should when handling the Adani deal which has faced universal rejection from players in the aviation sector.
“I called the previous CS for Roads and Transport, Murkomen, with a view of trying to educate and advise him to meet with the workers and explain the Adani issue to them. But unfortunately, our Ministers are arrogant they don’t take calls unless they are from businessmen and employers.” Atwoli recounted.
Atwoli further expressed concerns over passengers being stranded with the situation now out of hand which he attributed to poor leadership by persons appointed by President William Ruto.
On Wednesday, activity and business came to a standstill at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as staff made good their threat to ground activity. The staffers started staging their strike at midnight and sustained the momentum through to Wednesday mid-day.
This culminated into long queues at the facility, cancelled and delayed flights, sparking an outrage from Kenyans across the board. Many Kenyans reported being forced to cancel their flights.
Kenya Aviation Authority (KAA) workers have vowed to continue striking until the government caves in to their demands. The aviation industry workers have expressed concerns that the government is not transparent on the terms of the deal the government has signed with Indian conglomerate, Adani.
Under the terms of the deal, the Indian company is expected to inject billions of shillings to refurbish JKIA. The foreign company will in turn recoup its investment through running the airport until the amount is fully recovered.
The workers, however have expressed fears that the deal may render them jobless and lead to mass layoffs. Appearing before the Committee on Appointments for vetting before taking over the Sports docket, Murkomen defended the deal claiming that the agreement was above board.
The protests have been ongoing for several weeks, after a notice issued by the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) on August 12. Talks between the union and government officials also collapsed….CLICK HERE FOR MORE ARTICLE>>>
