As the merger between telcos Airtel and Telkom looms, 52 former staff of Airtel Kenya have written to the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) in opposition of the merger.
In the deal between the two companies, Telkom will independently retain part of its business, while Airtel will fully merge to form a new entity.
The ex employees allege that the move would compromise the conclusion of their pending case against the company.
The 52 are a fraction of numerous staff members laid of by Airtel in early 2016 on account of redundancy.
In a Gazette notice, CA asked any parties opposing the merger to make their submissions within 30 days from July 12, 2019, ahead of its approval of the merger.
“While Telkom will still retain part of its business, Airtel will fully merge as a new entity thereby jeopardizing chances of a fair hearing for our case,” said David Kahara, former HR manager, who is also one of the litigants.
Airtel-Telkom is set to begin joint operations by the end of August 2019, under the leadership of Telkom Kenya Chief Executive, Mugo Kibati, as board chair, and Airtel’s Kenya Chief Executive Prasanta Sarma will be appointed as the Chief Executive Officer.
The merger would position the telcos in a better place to compete with Kenyan telco giant, Safaricom; as well as improve Airtel’s financial woes which resulted from accumulated losses and debt incurred in 2018.
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Telkom Kenya is majority-owned by private equity firm Helios Investment Partners (60%) while the Kenyan government holds the remaining 40 per cent stake.
Post-merger, Airtel and Telkom will operate under the alias Airtel-Telkom under the joint venture.
The 52 are suing the company for termination without due process as required by the local labour laws.
Mr. Kahara said the litigants are still waiting for response from CA once they review the raised concerns.
