Justice George Odunga. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- This follows an order by High Court judge George Odunga that all former PCK employees be paid in accordance with rules of the defunct Kenya Posts & Telecommunication Corporation (KPTC).
- The order will also affect unspecified Telkom and Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK) formerly Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) workers.
Struggling Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) has been ordered to
pay more than 4,000 former employees money likely to run into billions
after the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) ordered it to re-calculate
the pension and pay in 30 days.
The pension watchdog
gave the directive following an order by High Court judge George Odunga
that all former PCK employees be paid in accordance with rules of the
defunct Kenya Posts & Telecommunication Corporation (KPTC).
The
order will also affect unspecified Telkom and Communication Authority
of Kenya (CAK) formerly Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) workers.
While
compelling the RBA to determine a petition filed by lawyer Titus Koceyo
for the former PCK employees in 2014 to have their pension’s dues
calculated as per the KPTC Pensions Rules enacted by Parliament in 1998,
Justice Odunga directed the trustees of the authority (RBA) to
discharge their duties in accordance with the law.
Mr Koceyo told the judge to find RBA had abdicated its duty to
address a complaint filed by former employees of PCK led by Mr Moses
Ondingo.
He said the claimants were entitled to a fair administrative action as required under Article 47 of the Constitution.
He said the claimants were entitled to a fair administrative action as required under Article 47 of the Constitution.
Justice
Odunga ruled it would be unfair to drive away the claimants from the
seat of justice yet they had raised a genuine complaint against RBA.
“It
is not in doubt that there is a lapse of three years in determining a
complaint arising from retirement benefits is inordinate delay,” ruled
Justice Odunga.
“I am satisfied that the delay on the
part of RBA in determining the applicants complaint amounts to
abdication of the constitutional and statutory obligation to resolve
such disputes placed upon it.”
Although RBA had alleged that the matter was a complex one, it did not place before him any evidence to prove the claim.
As
a consequence RBA was directed to determine the dispute in accordance
with the Retirement Benefits Act No.2 of 1998 in respect to all former
employees of KPTC seconded to the three entities.
RBA was given 60 days to conclude the outstanding issues.
The
RBA CEO Nzomo Mutuku on Wednesday directed PCK Trustees to “recalculate
the members’ benefits for service rendered during three different
periods in accordance with applicable rules.”
Mr Mutuku ordered PCK to pay the underpaid former employees’ pension dues entitled to them within 30 days.
His directive will equally affect Telkom which had been ordered last year to pay Sh7.2 billion in pension dues.
When
KPTC was split Telkom walked away with a staff capacity of 19,000
employees, PCK with 4,000 and CAK has the smallest staff capacity as it
is a regulatory body.
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