Employees of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) demanded to meet with Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda in the hope that he would help resolve outstanding issues besetting the Authority, including their four-month salary arrears, as their strike entered the fourth day.
The resolution was reached after the striking Tanzania region workers were barred by the management from using the Dar es Salaam station passenger hall as a rendezvous for their meetings.
The strike is said to be costing the firm roughly 260m/- a day as TAZARA generates about 5.0million US dollars (about 8bn/-) per month. The strike saw about 1600 workers on the Tanzania side down tools since last Friday, demanding slightly over 5bn/- in unpaid salaries since May, this year.
The TAZARA Tanzania region’s wage bill is about 1.3bn/- per month. The Tanzania Railway Workers Union (TRAWU) National Chairman, Musa Kalala, told the ‘Daily News’ that they would continue to down tools until they were assured of receiving their dues by higher authorities such as the prime minister.
“It is unthinkable how these workers can survive without pay for so long,” Mr Kalala said yesterday after the management’s effort to call riot police to dispense the striking workers from the TAZARA premises failed.
“But we (TRAWU) wrote to the PM seven days ago seeking audience with him,” Mr Kalala said, “as his lieutenants have failed to address our long-standing problems.”
He said the PM was yet to respond to their letter. “We know he is scheduled to be in Dodoma to attend the parliament session, but we don’t need him for the entire day…. just a few hours to hear about our misery.”
The TAZARA head of public relations, Conrad Simuchile, said the Authority expected the salary arrears to be in its account by Thursday following the government’s assurance.
“We anticipate that by Thursday this week the money for payment of salary arrears to all the employees will be in the TAZARA account,’ Mr Simuchile said in a press release.
“The situation in TAZARA is at the moment deplorable due to prolonged absence of recapitalization and reinvestment…results in a slump in business to unsustainable levels,” he added.
Following the assurance, the management yesterday summoned the riot police to disperse a crowd of about 200 workers who had assembled in from of the Dar es Salaam station, however, the police declined to do so.
“After we have assessed the situation we have realized that the striking workers pose no danger to either TAZARA property or to the public,” a police officer who preferred anonymity said.
The striking employees broke into a song when the squad of about 20 police officers in full riot gear left the station premises, leaving the workers to continue with their nonviolent protest to demand their pay.
Sources within the ill-fated railway firm whose trains ply between Dar es Salaam and Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia said the budgeted target is for TAZARA to haul 50,000 tonnes of cargo per month, but only manages to transport between 18,000 and 20,000 tonnes a month.
“Failure to haul the targeted tonnage leaves TAZARA in a bad financial situation as it fails to generate enough revenue to sustain its operations. The railway company is supposed to rake in 5.0million US dollars (about 8bn/-),” the source said, “and on each striking day the railway losses about 260m/-.”
TRAWU Deputy Secretary General, Mr Boaz Nyakeke, said they have told the Authority to inject in 32bn/- as new capital and give the workers four months to turn it around. In a bid to recapitalize TAZARA, the shareholders, ie governments of Zambia and Tanzania, agreed to put in 32bn/- each, but only Zambia managed to inject in 4bn/-.
TAZARA was a turnkey project financed and built by China. Construction began in 1970 and was completed in 1975, two years ahead of schedule. Construction costs were about 500 million US million dollars.
By ABDUEL ELINAZA, Tanzania Daily News
