Ex-Telkom Kenya employees sue over severance pay

A Telkom customer care shop in Nairobi on December 23, 2010. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Over 260 former Telkom Kenya employees have sued to recover millions of shillings awarded to them by a lower court and upheld by the Court of Appeal last year.

The employees filed their submissions at the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nakuru in a case heard on Monday before Justice Stephen Radido.

In 2011, High Court judge Justice Luka Kimaru ruled that "the employees were entitled to be awarded all accrued salaries, house allowances and special damages by their employer".

The company appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal, which upheld the High Court’s ruling last November.

The legal battles began in 2006, when the company laid off 11,000 workers in a restructuring aimed at cutting costs.

RETRENCHMENT

Telkom cited high debt, declining revenues and high staff costs as the grounds for compelling workers to take early retirement.

The layoffs came in two phases - one involving employees over 50 years of age and the other for younger workers.

The first group later sued, claiming they had been discriminated against. The High Court agreed and awarded the 996 employees Sh150 million.

In their submissions, the complainants asked the court to provide directions on the matter, which has been in the courts for over a decade.

“The employees’ labour rights have been stayed for a long time, which has caused suffering to them,” said their lawyer Tom Ojienda.

In response, the company said the employees had the ability to quantify their claims, print and present the information to the court but instead chose not to.

“This court has no jurisdiction to change the Court of Appeals decision because it was conclusive,” said lawyer Cyprian Wekesa.

The case will be mentioned on September 29 to confirm when a ruling on the matter will be delivered.