Kenya airport workers' union delays strike by two weeks

NAIROBI

A planned strike by aviation staff at Kenya's international airport has been delayed by two weeks to "give dialogue a chance," a spokesman has said.

About 10,000 members of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union had planned to walk out from today over plans by the Kenyan government to strike an investment deal with India's Adani Group to expand and operate Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

"After deliberations, we have resolved to postpone our strike for two weeks to give dialogue a chance," the union's secretary-general Moss Ndiema told AFP, adding that a meeting with the transport ministry will be held tomorrow.

The union has previously opposed the deal, saying it was an attempt to privatize the airport by stealth.

The strike will now kick off on Sept. 2 "unless the talks bear fruit," said Ndiema, without specifying further.

Under the proposal, Adani would invest $1.85 billion in expanding the airport in exchange for operating it for 30 years, according to documents seen by AFP.

Adani would add a second runway and upgrade the passenger terminal, according to the airport operator Kenya Airport Authority (KAA).

Kenya's government has defended the deal as a necessary measure to refurbish JKIA, one of Africa's busiest hubs, which is often hit by power outages and leaking roofs.

KAA said last month that the deal would be "subjected to technical, financial and legal reviews alongside requisite due processes".