Nairobi — Solicitor-General Shadrack Mose has called on the Treasury to expedite the long-overdue payment of terminal dues owed to former employees of Kenya Co-operative Creameries Limited (KCC).
In a response to the Senate's Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, Mose emphasized the urgency of clearing the payments, noting that the case falls under the Treasury's purview.
"We considered Treasury to advise that there be a need to request the National status of the schedule of payments initially produced by KCC in the Industrial Cause No. 24 of 1998, awarded by the court," Mose stated in part of his response to the Senate.
He further affirmed that the judgment, which mandated the payment, was never contested and urged the Senate to be guided accordingly.
The former KCC employees have been in a long-standing battle for their terminal benefits, years after the company was wound up and restructured into what is now known as New KCC.
In 1998, the petitioners filed a claim in the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which ruled in their favor, awarding them Sh109 million in terminal dues.
Despite the ruling, the employees have yet to receive their payments.
The Senate's invitation to the Attorney General's office to discuss the case came after continued legal efforts by the former employees, who have expressed frustration over the delay.
They argue that the restructuring and rebranding of the company into New KCC was a strategic move to avoid liability for their dues.
"The company's operations and assets remained unchanged, and the government retained ownership," the petitioners stated in their submission to the Senate, accusing the government of evading responsibility.
KCC, once a key player in Kenya's dairy industry, faced liquidation after Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) appointed a receiver to recover outstanding debts.
Although the government eventually intervened, purchasing KCC's assets and reviving the company as a state corporation, the issue of the former employees' unpaid benefits has persisted.
The matter is still under review at the Court of Appeal, and the petitioners continue to push for Senate intervention to ensure their long-awaited dues are finally paid.
