By Beatrice Obwocha

The High Court has ordered Telkom Kenya to pay former employees of Gilgil Telecoms Industries (GTI) more than Sh100 million salary arrears.

Justice Luka Kimaru directed Telkom to pay the 56 employees the salary increment negotiated by their union in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

The judge ruled that the former employees who were retrenched were entitled to an increment of house allowance equivalent to 60 per cent of their salaries contained in a circular issued by Telkom to its employees in 2001.

Telkom, was also ordered to pay the employees another 7.5 per cent salary increment contained in a circular issued in 2003 and another 10 per cent salary increment agreed upon after they went on strike in 2004.

In the ruling read in Nakuru by Justice William Ouko, Justice Kimaru said the employees would be paid the arrears from the time of increment to when they were retrenched on June 15, 2006. In the case, Mr Duncan Nderitu and 55 other former employees had sued Telkom and GTI seeking payment of the increments.

They stated that they worked for GTI, a subsidiary of Telkom and were members of the Communications Workers Union that negotiated the salary increment.

They further stated that Telkom’s other subsidiary, Kenya Communication College of Technology was allowed to enter into a separate agreement with the union but they were locked out. The employees through lawyer Tom Ojienda claimed that Telkom management informed them that they did not need to enter into another agreement, as they would be factored in any negotiations the company entered with the union.

They said they used to pay monthly to the union and the payments were deducted from their salaries by GTI.

They said, Telkom selectively applied the increments agreed with the union in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

 But Telkom disputed the claim saying that GTI was a different entity and had its employees hence they were not entitled to any increment.

In his judgement, Justice Kimaru observed that the board of GTI constituted of Telkom’s Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer and the Company Secretary.

He said such composition of the board meant that Telkom was involved in managing the affairs of GTI and cannot claim to be separate.

The judge also stated that Telkom deliberately created a vacuum to exploit GTI employees by denying them an opportunity to enter into a separate agreement with the union.

He ruled that Telkom did not allow GTI workers to enter into a separate agreement with the union and did not explain why it did not extend the negotiated terms to the latter’s workers