Abeid Amani Karume International Airport in Zanzibar. PHOTO | FILE
Summary
· In a letter that The Citizen has seen, the company is laying off 100 workers saying they were forced due to falling volumes of businesses after most of their airlines were forced to sign with the
Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) preferred ground handlers DnataTransworld Aviation a ground
handling company has kicked off the exercise of laying off workers at the Abeid
Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA) with effect from Friday, May 2, The
Citizen has learnt.
In a letter that The Citizen has
seen, the company is laying off 100 workers saying they were forced due to
falling volumes of businesses after most of their airlines were forced to sign
with the Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) preferred ground handlers Dnata.
“We were left with no choice but to
cut down our work force because as it is we only handle one airline per day
five days a week,” said one executive of the company.
The company also said the procedure
was long overdue but they had to for the rules as set by the labour commission
on the isles.
“Finally we were given the nod and
with effect from today some of the 100 will receive letters of retrenchment and
others whose contracts have ended will not be renewed,” says the executive at
Trans World
At the company’s offices on Friday
afternoon a subdued mood struck as workers began picking up their termination
letters and severance pay cheques for whatever was due to them.
“I have to go back to the drawing
board, what I have been given as my severance package won’t last long because
there are many bills to pay,” said one of the workers who preferred anonymity.
On September 14, the Zanzibar
Airports Authority (ZAA) issued a directive which gave the Dubai based company
exclusive access to the new terminal which was constructed at a cost of $120
million.
The order by ZAA, gave ground
handling firms at the airport until December 1, 2022 to move from the newly
constructed Terminal 3, instructing airlines to make arrangements to work with
Dnata.
Several other steps followed the
order which included the auditing of the ground handlers in October and a
meeting with airlines to fast-track their transitions towards a new service
provider.
Whereas the other two ground
handlers were denied access to Terminal 3, Dnata on the other hand can still
operate in Terminal 2 as well.
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