A section of former Telkom workers has accused the Telposta Pension Scheme (TPS) of using the courts to delay compensation payments.
The workers are among the over 10,000 who the telecommunications company laid off between 2006 and 2007 in an IMF-backed and financed retrenchment program.
They jointly demand over Ksh 8 billion in compensation and interest from TPS, an amount that a Court of Appeal ordered they be paid and confirmed by the Retirements Benefits Authority Tribunal.
When did the government release compensation for retrenched Telkom workers?
Led by their national chairperson Enoch Aroko, the retrenchees said the National Treasury released the money in 2008. The money was released after TPS had given the retrenched workers a mere 43 per cent of their pension entitlement.
But since its release, the former Telkom workers noted that the money mysteriously disappeared, since it is not reflected in TPS annual financial reports.
“TPS never called us back for the balances when the government released this money,” Aroko said.
A tribunal ordered the payment of the money after recalculation of the retrenched workers’ compensation but TPS appealed the ruling.
The case is now back to the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal, where it started 17 years ago to be started afresh.
“This is too painful to the retrenchees. They can’t wait another 17 years,” their chairman said.
He further noted that at least 1,000 of their colleagues have died since retrenchment.
The retirees further expressed concerns that TPS had sought the services of high-profile lawyers to delay proceedings on technicalities.
Challenges retrenched Telkom workers are facing
Many of the retrenchees, now elderly, are facing severe financial hardships, with some reportedly suffering from depression. Their children dropped out of schools and colleges since the parents could no longer pay the fees. They also can’t afford medicines.
The group is now appealing to President William Ruto for intervention to facilitate the payment of their dues.
They also want the scheme officials investigated.
“The govt is allowed, under the RBS Act, through the RBA, to appoint a caretaker committee to oversee the payments to the workers, since TPS has refused to honour its obligations to pay the workers,” the former workers’ national chairperson told Uasin Gishu News.
The Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal in 2017, ordered compensation and recalculations of the retrenched workers’ pensions using the correct formula and pay with interest from 2006.
In addition, the former workers want the government to deregister the Telposta Pension Scheme over its failure to comply with the court order.
“The failure to pay elderly people, some of whom are over 90 years old, is a curse to the Kenyan nation because elders are not supposed to cry for so long,” Aroko said.
“The President, as a Christian, should intervene in this matter that affects so many families all over Kenya and the country shall be blessed,” he added.
