I’ll sort out your issues, JK promises workers

President Jakaya Kikwete delivers a speech at the climax of Labour Day at CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza yesterday. PHOTO | MICHAEL JAMSON      

By The Citizen Reporters

In Summary

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.

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).