2013 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights - Tanzania
Publisher | International Trade Union Confederation |
Publication Date | 6 June 2013 |
Cite as | International Trade Union Confederation, 2013 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights - Tanzania, 6 June 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/51b8515516.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Anti-union discrimination: In December 2012, the management of Kampala International University (KIU) at the Dar es Salaam campus dismissed 40 staff members who recently joined the Research, Academic and Allied Workers' Union (RAAWU). Since November 2012, staff members have been on strike demanding payment of their salaries which were last paid in October 2012. After RAAWU successfully opened a branch, the university's manager provided letters of termination to 40 union members who were mostly employed as teaching staff and had joined the RAAWU one week earlier. RAAWU is pursuing legal action over the terminations.
Violence: On 26 June 2012, Steven Ulimboka, chair of the Medical Association of Tanzania, was kidnapped at gunpoint by five men. He was taken to a forest on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, where he was beaten and tortured. The abduction occurred during an industrial dispute between doctors at public hospitals and the Government. On 22 June 2012, Ulimboka declared a nation-wide strike of doctors, ignoring a court order to return to work, to demand better pay and working conditions.
Arrests and threats: In July 2012, police arrested members of the Tanzania Teachers' Union (TTU) participating in a strike. Other teachers, administrators and union leaders received threats from authorities that they would be arrested and prosecuted. The government refused to negotiate with the TTU over the release of the workers. On 2 August 2012, the High Court declared the July strike unlawful. On 9 January 2013, the TTU filed proceedings in the Court of Appeal.