By The Citizen Reporters
In Summary
Salary rises, reduction of taxes and improved
working conditions: These were the top demands of workers as Tanzanians
joined millions others across the world in marking Labour Day yesterday.
In response, President Jakaya Kikwete pledged to
work on their grievances in an address to the nation from Mwanza--where
the celebrations were marked at national level. The president promised
to continue sorting out worker grievances.
In response to a plea to have Pay As You Earn
(PAYE) reduced from the current 12 percent to at least nine percent,
President Kikwete promised to work on the matter but fell short of a
commitment that the reduction would be in the budget expected to be
tabled in Parliament next month.
He added: “Workers’ problems are so many and there
is no possibility that one government might resolve all of them at one
time…we are all witnesses here that, in his 27 years in power, Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere could not finish them. Mzee (Ali Hassan) Mwinyi and
(Benjamin) Mkapa also did their part but they were not able to solve all
worker problems. Our government has done a lot to address these
problems and we will continue to do so until the day we hand over to the
next leader. I am sure that he will also continue dealing with worker
grievances.”
Mr Kikwete urged workers to enrol in the permanent
voter register ahead of the General Election and Referendum for the new
constitution. “Your vote is very valuable for national development…if
you register, you can vote and elect councillors, MPs and president of
your choice.”
In a speech read by Secretary General Nicholaus
Mgaya, the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta), asked the
government to prevail upon private firms to pay their workers the
minimum pay proposed in 2006, which is Sh315,000. Mr Mgaya also asked
the government to reduce PAYE from 12 percent to nine percent and give
the nod to ILO contracts. Tucta had 11 demands, Mr Mgaya said. They
cover minimum pay, improvement of pension, tax deductions and an
arbitration process.
In Dar es Salaam, Tucta called on the government
to lower the tax burden for workers and raise minimum pay to at least
Sh720,000 a month to enable workers meet their basic obligations.
In a speech read by Mr Charles Mgashi, the Tucta
secretary in Dar es Salaam and Coastal zone, the union urged the
government to calculate taxes and minimum pay on the basis of actual
cost of living. Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick
pledged to take the concerns to President Kikwete and assured the
workers that the president would work on the request.
The fact that workers face problems does not mean
that the government does not care about them, he said, but it instead
tries to share the little that is available with people who live in
rural areas and are engaged in agriculture.
In Arusha, workers blamed poverty on investors who
have not honoured their pledges to revive privatised factories. They
requested the government to ensure all factories, including the
Arusha-based General Tyre, were back in operation in order to create
jobs for the rising number of youth.
Workers from both the public and private sectors,
who braved the morning downpour to mark May Day at Sheikh Amri Abeid
Stadium, also said some people continue to hold land they have never
developed while entrepreneurs in their thousands are keen to lay their
hands on it.
Arusha District Commissioner Christopher Kangoye
said the regional authorities would follow up on investors in factories
that had not been revived. Speaking on behalf of Regional Commissioner
Felix Ntibenda, Mr Kangoye said General Tyre had contributed
significantly to the economy of the region in the past.
In Dodoma, Tucta leaders hit out at the government over low
salaries for civil servants. Tucta co-ordinator Ramadhan Mwendwa likened
a low cadre civil servant’s monthly pay to a day’s allowance for top
leaders. He added: “It does not allow a low cadre employee to survive
and that is why we have always complained about decreasing morale among
workers.”
Given the way it spends its money and resources,
Mr Mwendwa added, many workers believe that the government can raise the
minimum pay to at least Sh315,000.
In Tabora, employers were warned against sacking
workers infected with HIV/Aids. Regional Commissioner Ludovick
Mwananzila said in a speech read on his behalf by District Commissioner
Suleiman Kumchaya that workers infected with HIV should be treated like
any others as long as they were able to work. Mr Mwananzila also
reminded residents to turn up in large numbers when their turn to be
listed in the Permanent Voter Register comes.
Mbeya Regional Commissioner Abbas Kandoro asked
Tanzanians to shun divisions along religious and ethnic lines and warned
that doing so would plunge the nation into chaos.
In a speech read by the Tamicvo secretary general,
workers in the region complained of high taxes on their salaries and
asked the government to reduce them.
Meanwhile, Tucta in Geita region asked the
regional administration to intervene in the problems of workers,
including debts and the rising cost of living. The union threatened to
sue the government if it failed to solve these problems.
Reported by Alex Malanga (Dar), Aidan Mhando and
Ngollo John (Mwanza), Patty Magubira (Arusha), Sharon Sauwa (Dodoma),
Robert Kakwesi Tabora), Albert Msole and Justa Musa (Mbeya), and Salum
Maige (Geita).
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