Former staff accuse Telkom of reneging on 1.2b retirement deal

Former Telkom Kenya employees have accused the State Corporation of going against an agreement they had entered into October last year to be paid Sh1.2 billion retirement payoff.

997 former Telkom workers had signed a deed of settlement with their former employer in August, 2014 which enabled them to secure the sum.

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Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, who is representing the former staff, told High Court Judge Alfred Mabeya on Wednesday that the issues currently being raised by Telkom are only intended to frustrate the claimants’ efforts to access their benefits.

He claimed the company's argument that the High Court was not the right place to file their application to seek recognition of the deed of settlement was improper given that the said agreement provided that it could be recorded in any court.

He added that Telkom’s claims that advocates who signed the settlement on its behalf did not have authority should not be taken seriously because such claims were not disclosed to the other parties at the time of drafting the agreement.

“The presence of those advocates in court today shows that they had authority. The deed of settlement has also described the lawyers and their role. The agreement itself is clear as to authority,” Mr Ahmednasir said.

Validity

Mohammed Nyaoga, the lawyer representing Telkom, insisted that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the application given the nature of the document (deed of settlement) which the applicants want the court to convert into a decree, saying the only option was for employees to file a fresh suit.

“What is before the court is only a deed. The court cannot convert a contract into a decree. We submit that this court is dealing with a case of enforcing a contract through the back door,” lawyer Nyaoga.

He added that the validity of the contract is contested, saying that if the court allows the former employees’ application, it will be required to supervise the processes contemplated under the deed even in the other courts where related matters are pending.

Mr Ahmednasir in response said that the deed did not envisage another proceeding, adding that if the arguments by Telkom are allowed, it could set a precedent where claims that a lawyer did not have authority to enter into an agreement on behalf on a party may be used to defeat justice.

“It seems Telkom does not want this matter to end. Allow our application so as to bring this matter to a final close,” lawyer Ahmednasir.

The former workers were retrenched in 2006 in an effort to cut costs amid declining revenues. They had initially sought Sh3.2 billion but settled for the significantly less Sh1.2 billion after an out of court negotiation.

According to the settlement, the money was to be remitted to the 997 ex-employees who were to get between Sh900,000 and Sh3.5 million each in severance pay to be disbursed in three installments of Sh460 million each.

A ruling will be delivered on March 25, 2015.