This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
Published on August 12, 2019, a notice to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) by former Airtel employees has raised concerns about the merger with Telkom Kenya.
The 52 workers, through their lawyer Duncan Okatch, are seeking Sh1 billion for their wrongful layoffs in January 2016. They claim the merger will make it difficult to recover the amount if they win the labour dispute.
The workers have cited five reasons for opposing the merger, including the refusal of the merged entity to assume liabilities of Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya.
According to a notice issued by Telkom Kenya, the new entity will not assume the liabilities incurred by the merging companies. The workers fear that Airtel may rely on this notice to frustrate their claims.
They argue that the merger will create a separate firm to run the core business of mobile telephony, leaving a shell firm that will struggle to clear their Sh1 billion claim.
“It means the companies to be left behind will be shells of themselves, well incapable of taking care of their expenditures because the core businesses taken away were their pillars,” the ex-Airtel workers say.
