By KARANJA NJOROGE

Retired teachers have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Government to pay their pension arrears totalling over Sh42 billion.

The former teachers warned that they will stage a sit-in at Parliament if their demands are not met within one week.

Retired Teachers 1997 Group vice-chairman David Kamau called on Parliamentary Committee on Education to summon Education and Finance ministers and the Attorney General to explain why the court order on the issue has not been honoured.

Speaking at a news conference in Nakuru, Kamau accused the Government of ignoring the court order, adding that "mass action is the only language the Government seems to understand".

The over 52,000 former teachers are demanding their accrued pension from 1997 to 2012 totalling Sh34 billion in accordance with a High Court ruling.

The teachers, who retired in 1997, are also seeking the release of their unpaid lump sum salary of Sh8.2 billion by Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Kamau said following the Government reluctance to release the money, they have been left with no option but to resort to staging a protest at Parliament Buildings.

The group secretary, Mr Gidraph Kimatta, said it was insensitive for a Government they had served in the last 40 years to continue withholding their money while they suffer.

"Some of our members are facing hardships in remote areas, while others are suffering from various ailments and cannot afford to buy medicine yet the Government has refused to release the money," he added.

The retired teachers went to court in 2006 seeking to be paid accrued pension and lump sum salary increment from July 1997 when the Government awarded teachers a hefty salary package, which was paid in phases.

They won the case after Justice David Maraga ruled that they were entitled to their retirement benefits based on the agreement signed on October 11, 1997 between TSC and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut).

The Court of Appeal later upheld the ruling and dismissed an appeal lodged by TSC challenging the award.

Kimatta said more than 300 retired teachers had died since the quest to force the Government to pay the dues started.

"The Government should stop playing tricks, we need the money now as we don’t know what tomorrow holds," he added.

Last month, the teachers were granted leave to institute judicial review proceedings to compel the Government to pay part of their pension dues totalling Sh16.7 billion.