Ex-teachers protest over dues

Thousands of teachers who retired between 1997 and 2007 are yet to receive millions of shillings as ordered by the High Court two years ago.

Now the ageing former teachers are threatening to hold demonstrations against the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) over what they term a deliberate delay to implement court orders.

The High Court, sitting in Nakuru, ordered TSC to pay the teachers who retired soon after the 1997 negotiated salary deal between the government and the Kenya National Union of Teachers.

Some of the retired teachers would have received up to Sh1.25 million, after the court ruled that they deserved higher benefits following the 200 per cent pay deal struck in 1997, just before they went into retirement.

But speaking in Nyeri yesterday, some of the retired staff said they were yet to get a single cent.

Former mathematics teachers Joseph King’ori Ndegwa, 63, and Daniel Gatuguto King’ori, 65; and ex-History teacher Chege Theuri, 67, represent thousands of retired staff who have been waiting patiently to be paid better pension following the High Court ruling of October 22, 2008.
Now they say they are getting tired of waiting for the money and want the matter settled.

“My lastborn son is at university. I need to pay more than Sh120,000 per year. I was hoping this money would come on time,” said Mr Ndegwa.

Contacted for comment, the TSC denied it was holding billions of shillings owed to the retired teachers.

The corporate affairs manager, Ms Nkatha Murungi, said the commission stopped dealing with the teachers as soon as they left service.
She advised the retired staff to seek help from the Pensions Department and Treasury.