Pilots lobby quashes Appeal’s court ruling over members’ sacking

By Steve Umidha

A local pilots lobby group has termed the Court of Appeal verdict which ruled in favour of Kenya Airways over a decision to retire 10 of its members in 2015, as a propaganda, claiming it “had not been served.”

The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) Secretary General Captain Muriithi Nyagah in an interview denied any knowledge of the ruling delivered on Friday 22, saying “as far as we are concerned the matter is still in court.”

In a 17-page ruling on a complaint lodged by the pilots through Kalpa, the Court of Appeal judges Roslyne Nambuye and Asike Makhandia ruled that the affected pilots did not deserve compensation for wrongful dismissal as their employer – Kenya Airways, had opted to retire them in a bid to restructure its business and not as a result of a disciplinary process.

“That upon being served with early retirement letters by the respondent (Kenya Airways), only two went back to renegotiate. The eight did not because, they wanted to pursue the redundancy route. They were therefore given an opportunity to be heard. We find no merit in this complaint and it is rejected,” reads in part the ruling which was delivered last Friday.

In its defense, KQ claimed that the pilots refused to fly their assigned aircrafts and went on a go slow to protest the decision, a move the airline says, cost it over Sh49million in losses for the period the target pilots failed to fly.

The Kenya Airways had hired 39 pilots to fly its fleets but in 2014, the local carrier – after suffering a reduced business growth returns, decided to exit its B777-2000 and B777-300 Aircraft Fleet and in return, offered early retirement package with full benefits to 10 of the affected pilots effective May, 2015.

Between January 14 and March 15, the court heard that the pilot’s employer, Kenya Airways on several occasion invited the pilots for meetings over the matter, but were either neglected or ignored – a move that forced KQ to engage the 10 pilots individually.

The ruling, made by the country’s highest law court now leaves the affected pilots with insignificant options to argue their case.

“Unless under a special circumstance where a five-bench sitting is put in place to hear this matter, I do not think we have any option left. Supreme Court is the highest court and as far as I am concerned it is the end,” said one of the affected pilots who asked not to be quoted. Prior to his dismissal the pilot served the airline for over 30 years and left without recompense.