EDITORIAL: KQ shouldn’t force staff pay cuts

Kenya Airways should not use the token pay cut by top executives as a moral justification to go after the paychecks of its workers many who have committed their monthly salaries to loan facilities, their households and dependents.

While we laud the management for proactive measures in these uncertain times, the 25 and 35 percent cuts to top managers and board fees translate to about Sh200 million against a wage bill of Sh16 billion.

For the cuts to make sense as noted by several analysts, KQ may be angling to push the rest of the workforce to take a haircut on their pay. The law is clear in how a contract between an employer and employee is governed and a company cannot unilaterally change the terms and conditions of engagement especially when the change is detrimental to the employees.

Many employers will likely be tempted to sacrifice their workers’ paychecks to defend their balance sheet.

Undoubtedly several employers will need to declare certain employees redundant. This must be done within the law and labour best practices as well as in respect to union bargains and consideration of the welfare of their employees.