Drivers’ strike holds the nation at ransom

Dar es Salaam residents walk along Morogoro Road at Ubungo after commuter bus drivers went on strike yesterday.  PHOTO | EMMANUEL HERMAN 

By Bernard Lugongo,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Thousands left stranded countrywide as public transport grinds to a standstill for 24 hours
• In Dar es Salaam, upcountry travellers in their hundreds were left stranded and it didn’t matter that many had bought tickets in advance, unaware that drivers had laid down tools

Dar es Salaam.  So many were forced to walk to their workplaces while others turned to the  motorcycle and three-wheeled motorcycle taxis popularly known “bodaboda” and “bajaj” respectively in the wake of a countrywide drivers’ strike.

In Dar es Salaam, upcountry travellers in their hundreds were left stranded and it didn’t matter that many had bought tickets in advance, unaware that drivers had laid down tools.

At the Ubungo Upcountry Bus Station, stranded travellers were everywhere as they pondered their next move, with some blaming the government for failure to forestall the strike. Others blamed bus owners for failure to sort out long-standing labour disputes with their employees.

The few transporters who dared to deploy their buses were met with angry mobs of stone-throwing strike enforcers who accused the working drivers as traitors. It did not seem to matter to them that they were losing their day’s wages and costing the country’s economy millions.

As travellers remained stranded at Ubungo, some upcountry bus drivers and crew were seen taking alcohol and seemingly hilarious and  least concerned about the fact that their industrial action was causing pain and anguish for their would-be passengers who had nothing to do with their demands.

Driverless buses remained parked, some loaded with anxious travellers who apparently hoped the strikers would have a change of mind and ferry them to their destinations. But the drivers stood their ground.

By yesterday evening, no single bus had left Ubungo for upcountry and frustrated travellers had no choice but to return home.

As city residents suffered for lack of public transport, the day was a boon for taxis, private vehicle owners including trucks, that took advantage of the crisis, charging hapless commuters a minimum of Sh2,000.

An upcountry traveller at Ubungo, Mr Joseph Wambura, who had already paid for a ticket, said the strike seriously affected him because he was supposed to report at his workplace in Tabora today.

Drivers Association of Tanzania (Uwamata) deputy chairman Shaban Mdemu said they were demanding that the government prevails over bus owners to ensure they offer them acceptable working contracts.

The Citizen learnt that the drivers want a clear government stand on the Public Notice No. 31 directing drivers holding Driving Licence Class E, C3, C2, C1 and C to attend a re-fresher course at a recognised institution and be re-tested before a re-issuance of a licence. Drivers say this plan is unnecessary and exploitative.

Last month, they went on a half-day strike over the same issue and resumed work only after the minister for Labour and Employment, Ms Gaudensia Kabaka, met them and said the re-fresher programme directive had been revoked.