Telecom Kenya issues lay-off notice to its 575 staff members

The recent propounded merger between Telkom Kenya and Airtel Kenya has gained cresendo as attested by a notice signed Mugo Kibati, CEO Telkom Kenya giving a month’s notice to layoff 575 staff members.

Having signed a binding agreement to combine mobile, enterprise and carrier services to operate under a joint venture company christened – Airtel Telekom, Kibati averred that Telkom will discontinue the transferred business and must, therefore, end the employment of workers who are currently deployed in these functions. Employees to be affected with this purge are largely those performing administrative and support tasks.

“In accordance with the provisions of Section 40 of the Employment Act, 2007, we have notified the Communications Workers Union (COWU) and sent individualized letters to staff where applicable as well as to the county labor offices, giving one-month’s notice with effect from July 31st, 2019 of our intention to terminate the employment of approximately 575 of our employees on account of redundancy as a result of the transaction,” read the memo.

Benson Okwaro, Secretary General – COWU confirmed being aware of the retrenchment, noting that the union has scheduled talks with the management next week on exit packages for affected workers.

With an inclination to enhance dialogue and build relationships with the potential struck-off staff, Kibati’s notice has granted the affected employees a 30day consultative period that is purposed to accomodate ideas, suggestions and respond to querries that may arise.

“There will be a thirty-day consultative period to enable dialogue between the business and staff, ensuring that any ideas, suggestions, and queries are received and given due consideration. The ExCo and I commit to a fair and transparent process, in line with the law and company policy,” says CEO Mugo Kibati.

Telkom has also requested JV Co to offer employment to some of the fired employees, subject to positions being available after the official announcement of the merger and based on thorough recruitment processes.