LIKONI FERRY USERS BRACE FOR STRIKE ACTION
As suggested several days ago through a number of tweets, the union representing the workers of the Kenya Ferry Services has indeed now issued a formal strike notice to the management of the company over an ongoing dispute on wages and benefits.
Slow go is already expected to kick in by tomorrow, probably resulting in less crossings as all rules and regulations governing ferry operations will be most strictly observed, leaving commuters and tourists, arriving and departing, in long traffic jams on both sides of the ferry terminals.
While the strike notice will run for a week before formal action can be taken, delays at this stage almost seem inevitable as workers reportedly feel ignored by management which has resorted to dismissive remarks over union demands.
Tour operators and hoteliers have already put contingency plans into place, scheduling transfers and excursion departures earlier, should feedback from the ferry terminals suggest that major delays are creeping into the crossing schedules. Some have also used the opportunity to renew calls to progress the bypass linking the south coast with the Mombasa highway and the international airport, which would create a road link evading the drive through the city of Mombasa and having to wait for a ferry and create a reliable and fast link to and from some of the coast’s best known resorts. Watch this space.
