After a two-decade-long battle with the government over their pensions, retired teachers now have a reason to rejoice. The National Treasury has at last disbursed Sh16.08 billion to 22,022 retired teachers, covering the delayed pension payments spanning from 1998 to 2003.
During a session with the Finance Committee of the National Assembly on Thursday, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u confirmed the release of funds. The ministry received revised claims from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) concerning 23,487 retired teachers, with the disbursed amount marking a significant step towards addressing their long-standing grievances.
Ndung’u further informed the committee that the Treasury is currently processing the remaining 1,465 claims for payment, indicating that they are in the pipeline.
The protracted pension dispute dates back to October 28, 2008, when the High Court in Nakuru initially awarded enhanced pension payments to retired teachers. Subsequently, the government pursued an unsuccessful appeal at the Court of Appeal in November 2010 and faced another setback when the Supreme Court rejected their appeal in 2013.
In a bid to overturn the Court of Appeal decision, the Attorney-General applied to the Supreme Court in 2014. However, the Supreme Court declined the application in a ruling on December 9, 2015, leaving the government with no alternative but to settle the accrued pension arrears owed to the retired teachers.
The affected retirees comprise teachers who did not benefit from a salary increase agreement between the government and trade unions in 1997. They retired after receiving only one of the five scheduled phases due to financial constraints faced by the government at the time of Daniel Arap Moi’s administration.
Philip Too, one of the retired teachers, took the matter to the Senate, highlighting the outstanding claims of teachers who retired between 1997 and 2007. Too expressed his dissatisfaction with the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) failure to pay the retirees nearly 20 years after their retirement.
Recently, the TSC revealed that the Treasury had been delaying the release of funds, despite the commission having processed all the necessary documents.
In 1997, the government and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) entered into a payment agreement through Legal Notice 534 of 1997. The agreement outlined a salary increase to be implemented in five phases over five years, with the final phase scheduled for 2001.
However, in 2003, the teachers and the government renegotiated the deal and signed a new agreement, stipulating that the arrears would be paid over ten years commencing in 2003. Subsequently, the parties agreed to reduce the number of payment phases to six and then five in a 2007 agreement, with implementation to be completed within six years.
Finally, after years of legal battles and advocacy efforts, the government has taken a significant step towards fulfilling its obligations to retired teachers by disbursing the long-overdue pension funds.
by Ian Kamsa