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THE ASSESSMENT ON THE ROLE TRADE UNIONS PLAY IN
THE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF LABOUR LAWS: A CASE OF
TUICO
By
Mercy Godlay Jilala
A Thesis/Dissertation Submitted in Partial/Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the for the Degree of Masters of Public Administration (MPA) of Mzumbe
University
2013
i
CERTIFICATION
The undersigned certifies that has read and hereby recommends for acceptance by
Mzumbe university a dissertation titled: The Assessment on the Role Trade Unions
play in the Implementations of Labour Laws: A Case Study of TUICO; in partial
fulfillments for the degree of masters degree of Public Administration.
______________________________
Major Supervisor
_____________________________
Internal Examiner
_____________________________
External Examiner
Accepted by the Board
______________________________
CHAIRPERSON, FACULTY BOARD
ii
DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT
I Mercy Godlay Jilala, declare that this thesis is my own original work and that it
has not been presented and will not be presented to any other College or University
for similar or any other award.
.
Signature: __________________________
Date: __________________________
@
This dissertation is copyright material protected under Berne Convention, the
copyright act 1999 and international and national enactments, in that behalf, on
intellectual property. It may not be produced by any means in full or in part except
for short extracts in fair dealings, for research or private study, critical scholarly
review or discourse with an acknowledgement, without the written permission of the
Directorate of Studies and Programmes, on behalf of both the Author and the
Mzumbe University College.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the process of writing this paper, I have accumulated an enormous amount of
intellectual debt from different people whom I shall not be able to mention all of
them here. I wish to express my sincerely gratitude and appreciation to my
supervisor Dr. Andrew Mushi, who tirelessly read and guided me through the entire
period of my field especially in the whole process of writing this paper. Indeed, he
has guided and broadened my scope and understanding of the issues at stake.
Moreover, I like to forward my heart-felt gratitude to my Beloved husband Mr.
James Jilala and family for their tolerance, moral, and financial support they
provided to me. Since it is not possible to list every person by name, I request all
those who assisted me in one way or another to accept my sincere thanks and
appreciation for their incredible assistance and moral support.
However, all errors in this dissertation remain solely my own responsibility and
should not be attributed to any of the persons or institutions.
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ABSTRACT
This paper analyses the effectiveness of Tanzania Union of Industry and Commerce
(TUICO) in the implementation of the labour laws in Tanzania where three firms
were used as a case study. The study found that the role of TUICO is well known,
however, stakeholders feel that the union has not performed satisfactory.
It was observed that some of the factors that hamper TUICO in the implementation
of the law include: shortage of funds, negative attitude of employers, lack of
education among union members and lack of committed unionist who put their
interest before that of the union.
The study concluded that, most of trade unionists are lacking negotiation skills due to
their level of education, employers are also obstacle to TUICOs performance, and the
Government has not yet enforced law to employers who act contrary to the law.
The study recommended TUICO to train its members especially in negotiation skills,
also the Government was urged to administer and enforce the law effectively,
employers on the other side was advised to consider trade unions as development
partners and not enemies.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION ...................................................................................................... i
DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT .................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................ iii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................... v
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. vii
CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................ 1
BACKGROUND INFORMATION.......................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Information Background ........................................................................................ 1
1.3 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................... 3
1.4Objective of the Study............................................................................................. 4
1.4.1 General Objective................................................................................................ 4
1.4.2 Specific Objectives.............................................................................................. 4
1.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 4
1.6 Significance of the study........................................................................................ 4
1.7 Scope and limitations of study .............................................................................. 5
1.8 Limitation of the study ........................................................................................... 5
1.9 Delimitation of the study........................................................................................ 6
1.10 Structure of the Paper…………………………………………………………6
CHAPTER TWO ....................................................................................................... 7
LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................... 7
2.1Introduction ............................................................................................................. 7
2.2 Definitions of Concepts ...................................................................................... 10
2.3 Theoretical Framework of the Study................................................................... 23
2.4 Stakeholders Attitude and Perception on Trade Unions ..................................... 24
2.5 Research Gap ...................................................................................................... 26
vi
CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................. 27
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................... 27
3.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 27
3.1 Area of Study ...................................................................................................... 27
3.2 Research Design................................................................................................... 27
3.3 Population of the Study....................................................................................... 28
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling procedure................................................................. 28
3.4.1 Sample size........................................................................................................ 28
3.4.5 Sampling Techniques ........................................................................................ 29
3.4.6 Sampling Procedures......................................................................................... 29
3.5 Data Collection Methods ..................................................................................... 30
3.5.1 Questionnaires................................................................................................... 30
3.5.2 Interviews.......................................................................................................... 30
3.5.3 Documentary review ......................................................................................... 30
3.6 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................... 32
DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
FINDINGS ................................................................................................................ 32
4.1 Data Presentation ................................................................................................. 32
4.2 General Respondents........................................................................................... 33
4.2.1 Workers Education............................................................................................ 33
4.2.2 Gender Distribution.......................................................................................... 35
4.3 Analysis and Discussions of Major Findings....................................................... 36
4.3.1 The role of TUICO in implementing Labour law ............................................. 36
4.3.1.1 Employees’ View ........................................................................................... 37
4.3.1.2 TUICO’S Responses (In Implementation of Labour Law).......................... 41
4.3.1.3 Employers’ Responses ................................................................................... 42
4.3.1.4 Government’s Responses ............................................................................... 44
4.3.2 TUICO and Collective Bargaining ................................................................... 46
4.3.3 How TUICO Participated in Minimum Wage ................................................. 49
4.4 Factors that HamperTUICO in Implementing their Objectives ........................... 51
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4.5 Summary and Interpretation of Findings ............................................................ 55
4.5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 55
4.5.2 Summary of Findings........................................................................................ 55
CHAPTER FIVE...................................................................................................... 59
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 59
5.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 60
5.1 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 60
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 66
QUESTIONNAIRE………………………………………………………………..69
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Total respondents in terms of Education ..................................................... 35
Figure 2 TUICOs responses on their Role ................................................................. 42
Figure 3 Employers’ response.................................................................................... 43
1
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.1 Introduction
This chapter involves background information to the study, statement of the problem,
research objective, as well as the significance of the study.
1.2 Information Background
This study assessed the role that TUICO as trade unions plays in the implementation
of the labour laws in Tanzania. A trade union, also known as a labour union, is an
organization composed of workers within a particular industry or profession. Its
primary goal is to advocate on behalf of its workers. This takes the form of arguing
for better wages and benefits, regulating relationships between the employees and the
employer, and fighting for safer and more pleasant working conditions (The
Columbia Encyclopedia 2004).
Trade unions were formed in order to be agencies of the labour force in seeking for
their rights due to the fact that labour laws were and are still over-protective and
over-reactive in achieving the target of fair labour practices. In normal
circumstances, rights of employees are not fairly met and working standards are also
unfriendly.
Trade Union in Tanzania has a long history that can be traced far back since the
colonial era. During the colonial period these unions were formed for the purpose of
promoting and protecting workers’ rights against the colonial state. Notwithstanding
their primary objective of promoting the economic interests of their members, they
had also a vital role during the struggle for independence. In the course of fighting
for independence, these unions joined hands with Tanzania
African National Union (TANU) in exerting political pressure to the colonial
administration (Babeiya, 2011).
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However, with the country’s attainment of independence in 1961 the relationship
between trade unions and the ruling party changed significantly suggesting that the
two had a marriage of convenience. As the independent government ventured into a
numerous socio-economic policies, political pressure from any social or political
organization was taken by the government as inimical to national stability and
development. This stance was affirmed by the declaration in 1965 that Tanzania was
to be a one party state. As a result, trade unions and other civil society organizations
were put under the whims of the ruling party up to the time the country reintroduced
liberal politics in early 1990s (Babeiya, 2011).
Generally, trade unions are there to safeguard the rights of the employees because
they may get mistreated by the employers in many aspects such as low pay, working
long hours, and working in unfriendly environment which may also lead to poor
health among the members. However, despite the trusteeship which the trade unions
have to the employees, it has been difficult to cope with political pressures that limit
the rights of employees in terms of wages increment and provision of good working
standards and environment. The governments and states have been enforcing trade
unions to compromise on issues that have impact to their members, particularly, the
wages and healthy working environment.
Yet, trade unions seems to have remained weak in their major objectives; wages,
salaries and working conditions have not been improved by the employers, job
security and social policies are not fair to the employees, retired employees get very
little retirement benefits from the social security funds and this has led to poor living
standards by many retired employees. (Gundula, 2011). The collective bargaining is
not fair, the employers have been more powerful in negations and sometimes,
coercion is used to threaten the trade unions from demanding better pays and
working conditions.
Having considered the situation detailed above, as well as the misconception that the
public have on the role that trade unions play in implementing their duties, it is
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important to investigate on the role that Trade Unions (TUICO in particular) play in
the implementation of the Labour law in Tanzania.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
Trade unions have been entrusted by the members to act upon their rights; however
the situation is quite different because unions have not been active in workers’
demands despite the powers they have. On top of that, most of the trade unions treat
wage demands as something which depends on the willingness of the employers and
not under legal frameworks (Fossum, 2002).
As Fossum said many unions in Tanzania are not strong to represent the interest of
their members, Tanzania Union of Industry and Commercial (TUICO) is facing with
the same problem, the union has failed to negotiate more than what has been set as
the minimum standard by the Government. example in 2008 the Government
announced the Sectoral Minimum wage of TShs.80,000/=, which was supposed to be
the starting point for negotiation between Trade union and employers, to-date
nothing has been done, TUICO has failed to negotiate with employers for any
increase. Many employees in Trade and Industry sectors are paid the minimum
wage.
There are also very few voluntary agreements which have been signed by TUICO on
behalf of employees and employers. Termination cases have been increasing day by
day; many workers are working without any clear contract and with no job security.
There is also yet to be done in terms of education provision to workers in the field
because of the lack of knowledge on the importance of trade union, only few
Tanzanians are members of Trade Union. Many workers are not members of trade
unions not because they don’t want to be one, the problem is either lack of
knowledge or disappointed by those unions’ performance.
The question now is: What are the roles played by Trade Unions (TUICO in
particular) towards the implementation of the current labour laws in the country?
With this context this study intends to describe the role that TUICO plays towards
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ensuring industrial harmony at work places by ensuring that rights of its members are
observed with.
1.4 Objective of the Study
1.4.1 General Objective
The general objective of the study was to assess the role that TUICO plays in
implementing the requirements and rights conferred to by the laws governing labour
matters in the country. This includes fighting for better wages; ensuring their
members are given clear terms of contract, negotiating on their behalf, ensuring the
remunerations that they are paid satisfies their basic needs also making sure that their
rights are being dealt with in accordance with the law
1.4.2 Specific Objectives
This study was guided by the following specific objectives:
(a) To find out whether TUICO are active in collective bargaining
(b) To assess whether TUICO played any role in setting the minimum wages.
(c) To assess factors that hamper TUICO in the course of implementing labour laws
1.5 Research Questions
This study was governed by the following research questions:
(a) How TUICO is active in collective bargaining?
(b) Did TUICO participate in setting the minimum wages?
(c) What factors hamper TUICO to implement labour laws effectively?
1.6 Significance of the study
It is significant because it is a compulsory research paper in partial-fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the Masters Degree in Public Administration.
The findings of the study will contribute to the knowledge and better understanding
of the importance of Trade Unions in the working world. The employees who are
the core stakeholders of the trade unions will be informed and empowered in
demanding for their rights through collective bargaining at their work places.
5
The government will find it useful to review wage team to set harmonized wage
scheme to private sector though the Ministry of Labour and Employment and
recognize the trade unions by empowering them freedom of association as their
constitutional right.
It will also help in identifying challenges facing Trade Unions and Workers and
come out with the better recommendations that will enable trade union implement
labour laws smoothly.
1.7 Scope and limitations of study
The focus was narrowed down to three firms each one involved in a different
activity, firm one is Uchumi Supermarket which deals with retail business, the
second one is Urafiki Textile Mills which involves in textile mills production starting
from raw material to the finished product and Tanzania Cigarette Company which is
engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and sales of cigarette and tobacco products.
1.8 Limitation of the study
Some of the problems anticipated during the course of carrying out the study include
the reluctance of respondents due to the sensitivity of the issue. However, the
researcher managed to overcome this due to the fact that most of the respondents are
known to the researcher personally. Time and Cost limitation is one of the factors
that hindered the researcher to interview sample groups comfortably due to delaying
in one firm in giving the researcher permission to conduct the interview. As a result
the Researcher had to wait for confirmation in the first firm before she can make
appointment to another firm.
Language was another limitation, as most of workers are not conversant in English,
while even those who are fluent in English well feel free to express themselves in
Kiswahili. In order to acquire their responses the researcher used Swahili in some of
the questionnaires and therefore, sometimes an Interview was forced to be conducted
in Kiswahili language, while at the end of the day the outcome had to be reported in
6
English language (thus the researcher was at times forced to translate the outcome in
English).
1.9 Delimitation of the study
The study will be well investigated as the area of study is Dar es Salaam, so, the
problem of transportation cost will not be there as the researcher will be moving with
the public transport which is affordable.
Moreover, being a stakeholder of the Ministry of Labour and Employment most of
the time the researcher works with Trade unions so it is easy for her to get
information as most of the respondents are colleagues that are working together in
many aspects.
1.10 Structure of the Paper
This paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction and
background of the study, chapter two covers theoretical frame work and literature
reviews. Chapter three provides the methodology that the study undergoes, Chapter
four presents the data analysis and discussion of the findings. The final part provides
the conclusions, summaries of the main findings, and presents some
recommendations.
7
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction and Definition of Concepts
The purpose of reviewing literature is to find out what has been done and the gap that
exists. The review of literature is organized in broad themes and they will include
both print and non-print resources.
This section gives clarification on the meaning of the terms used in their research
paper; basically the terms that will be discussed under this chapter include Trade
union, Collective agreement, Minimum wage and Collective bargaining.
Trade Union
Trade union is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of
maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives. (Sidney & Beatrice,
1896). The term has also been defined to mean an association of workers in one or
more professions carried on mainly for the purpose of protecting and advancing the
members’ economic interests in connection with their daily work. (Cole 1937)
In their book feminizing the Unions (Cunninsons&Stageman, 1937) they defined
trade union as a monopolistic combination of wage earners who as individual
procedures are complementary to one another but who stand to employers in relation
to dependence for the sale of their labour and even for its production, and that the
general purpose of the association is in view of that dependence to strengthen their
power to bargain with the employers or bargain collectively.
All the three definitions above illustrated in different words the purposes for
establishing trade union to be maintaining and improving conditions of working
lives, protecting or improving the economic and social status of the members and
strengthening the power to bargain with the employees.
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Collective Agreements
A collective agreement is defined under Section 4 of the Employment and Labour
Relations Act No. 6/2004 as a written agreement concluded by a registered trade
union and an employer or a registered employer’s association relating to the terms
and conditions of employment and work of workers or concerning relations between
them.
Therefore, by virtue of the above definition, a collective agreement must take either
of the following from; an agreement between employer and workers trade union or
an agreement between employers’ union and workers union.
Parties concluding a collective agreement must always ensure that certain essential
conditions are met, firstly it must be in writing, it should clearly state names of the
parties, it must be duly signed by both parties, it should specify the period in which
the agreement is to be in force, it must prescribe the procedure for settling any
dispute between the parties, it should prescribe how to deal with matters pertaining to
interpretation and implementation and references of any such question to the Labour
court, and finally it should not contain any term or condition or employment which is
less favourable that or in contravention of the provisions of any written law
applicable to workers covered by the said agreement.
A collective agreement which has been taken cognizance by the appointed authority
shall be binding on both parties to the agreement including in any case where a party
is employers’ union, all members of the union to whom the agreement relates and
their successors, assignees or transferees and all workers who are employed or
subsequently employed in the undertaking or part of the undertaking to which the
agreement relates.
Collective Bargaining
The concept of collective bargaining is described under Section 4(10) of the ILO
Collective Bargaining Convention to mean all negotiations which take place between
an employer, a group of employers or more employers organizations, on the one
hand and one or more workers organization on the other for the following purposes;
9
Determining working conditions and terms of employments,
Regulating relations between employers and workers and regulating relations
between employers or their organizations and workers organizations.
A collective agreement may be voluntary where neither the employers nor employees
are legally bound to engage in the same. It may also be compulsory where it is
required by law.
Generally, the right to engage in collective bargaining is enjoyed, on one hand by
employers and their organizations and on the other by organizations of workers (First
level trade unions, federations and confederations). Only in the absence of these
organizations may elect representatives of the workers concerned conclude collective
agreements.
The question of who may engage in collective bargaining is dealt with under Section
2(1) which relates to issues of to whom Employment and Labour Relations Act as a
whole applies. The section provides that the Act applies to all employees including
those in the public service of the government of Tanzania Mainland. This constitutes
a departure from the previous legal position in which civil servants were excluded by
section 2(2) of the Trade Union Act of 1998 from forming trade unions, and
therefore engaging in collective bargaining. This previous prohibition against union
membership extended to members of the Tanzania Peoples Defense Forces (TPDF),
The Police Force, the Prison Services and the National Service, whether temporary
or permanent employees.
Minimum Wage
The term minimum wage is defined by the ILO as wage which provides a floor to the
wage structure in order to protect workers at the bottom of the wage distribution. In
determining the level of minimum wage, the two ILO Conventions No. 131 of 1970
(Minimum wage fixing) and Convention No. 26/1978 (Minimum wage fixing
machinery) looking at the following criteria; needs of workers and their families,
economic factors such as productivity, desirability to maintain a high level of
employment and decent wage floor (ILO 2008).
On top of that ILO gave number of reasons for establishing minimum wage to be;
10
To provide protection for small number of low wage workers who are
considered to be in a vulnerable position in the labour market
To ensure payment of “fair wages”
To provide basic floor for the wage structure and reduce poverty by providing
all or almost all workers with “safety net” protection against unduly low
wages and
As an instrument of macroeconomic policy to achieve broad national goal
such as economic stability and growth and improve the distribution of the
income (Samet 2000:7).
Eyraud (2005) pointed out four categories of minimum wage fixing to include;
National single rate or per region, Sectoral or occupation multiple rate, national
single rate through collective bargaining and Sectoral or occupational rate through
collective bargaining. According to him there are three actors involved in minimum
wage setting; employers, trade unions and the Government. It could also be tripartite
or the Government itself can set the minimum wage.
In Tanzania before the new minimum wage came into effect in 2000, the national
minimum wage rate was set by the government on national single base rate across all
sectors for the whole country. However, the new labour law provides rooms for
sectoral minimum wage based on multiple rates set on tripartite bases. The reason
for this change was that profits and working conditions differ between sectors.
Having understood the meaning of trade union, collective bargaining and minimum
wage it is now fair to explain the role that trade unions play and their importance
thereof.
2.2 Background of Trade Union in Tanzania
The concept of Trade Union was introduced in the then Tanganyika (Tanzania)
through the enactment of Trade Union Ordinance, 1932 which followed closely most
of the provisions of the Trade Unions Act of 1871 and 1876 of United Kingdom and
several other pieces of legislation which were enacted thereafter designed to control
11
and regulated trade unions. The legislation of trade unions ordinance, 1932 followed
the heels of an emerging permanent wage labour.
The act was intended to avoid the growth of independent radical workers movement
by providing legal mechanism by which the colonial state would use to ensure that
trade unions toe the line. The state chose to practice a kind of enlightened
paternalism to serve its own interests. The evolution of trade union can be elaborated
in three phases;
Phase one: Colonial period (1920s – 1950s)
This was a time when permanent wage labour had emerged after a phase of
predominantly semi-permanent wage labour. In this phase, the struggles of the
working class had shifted from individual resistance to collective action, from
rebellions and riots to strikes and from welfare societies to trade unions. It was in
this context that the colonial government repealed the Master and Native servants
Ordinance of 1923 with the Trade Union Ordinance of 1932 to guide and supervise
the organization of labourers within constitutional channels. The colonial
government put in place compulsory registration as a weapon in keeping trade unions
under control, monitoring and regulating their activities.
In 1922 Tanganyika African Civil Association (TSGA) was formed. This was to
become the African Association (AA) in 1929, and was transformed to Tanganyika
African National Union (TANU) in 1954. Before being transformed into a political
party, the association had been formed on the lines similar to Asian and European
civil servants’ associations. It was a white collar elitist non-political non-union
organization which sought to promote educational and social advancement of its
members.
In 1927 the African motors drivers and mechanics in Moshi formed the Kilimanjaro
Motor Drivers Association (KMDA) which attempted a strike for higher wages. By
1933 the Union of Shop Assistants of Asians was formed under the 1932 Ordinance.
This mainly consisted of Asian clerks, book-keepers, accountants and typists. This
12
union survived for six years, due to numerical weakness as it was racially based and
confined itself to white collar workers.
Another trade union is the Asiatic Labour Union which was formed in 1937.
Although racially based again at least included in its membership both skilled and
unskilled labourers. In 1937, a formerly Asian based Union in Kenya, the Kenya
Indian Labour Trade Union which has extended to Tanganyika and had included
African membership changes its name to Labour Union of East Africa so as to cater
for the members in Uganda and Tanganyika. It was registered in Tanganyika in
1939, but did not survive for long and was removed from the register in 1947.
1940’s saw the formation of trade unions registered under the Trade Union
Ordinance in transport, domestic work and tailoring. By 1947, there were more than
four registered unions namely the Stevedores and Dockers Union, the African Cooks,
Washer men and Houseboys’ Association; the African Tailors’ Association and the
Dar es Salaam African Motors Drivers’ Union. Several other unions emerged in
many parts of the country. By 1956 Tanganyika Federation of Labour (TFL) was
formed mostly led by white-collar and clerical workers.
The first phase was marked by series of strikes, the major ones being the 1939 strikes
in Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports and the 1943 of the Tanganyika Boating Co.
Workers, culminating in the 1947. Strike has escalated in 1940s and 1950 and
according to Chachage (1986) there were 22 strikes and stoppages in Tanga Province
in the second quarter of 1937 and 32 in the first half of 1938.
Phase two: During and after independence (1960s
During this period the Government wanted to stabilize its economy and concentrate
much on the development of the nation, therefore any organization that could wage
support to movement for strikes was a threat to the government. Thus, although the
co-operation between TANU and TFL played a significant role to the attainment of
independence in 1961, the role of TFL after independence became complex. The
union came into direct confrontation with the post independent TANU government
over various issues such as Africanization and trade unions’ autonomy.
13
In order to contain trade unions, the government abolished TFL in 1964 and
established the National Union of Tanganyika Workers (NUTA) with the Minister of
Labour as the General Secretary appointed by the government, together with his
deputy. NUTA was made an affiliate of the ruling party and therefore the number of
strikes dropped. It therefore had no power to confront the state in trying to defend
workers’ interests. NUTA was followed by other trade unions such as Jumuiya ya
Wafanyakazi Tanzania (JUWATA) in 1977, Organization of Tanzania Trade Unions
(OTTU) in 1990 and the Tanzania Federation of Trade Unions (TFTU) in 1995.
However, all these unions were not autonomous as they were the victims of strict
control from the state.
In 1969 the government announced the formation of Workers’ Councils, with
management and workers representation, for the purpose of bringing the workers to
the management of industries and promotes better industrial relations, while giving
workers more say. But in reality, these ended up being dominated by management.
Generally the industrial relations policy after independence were geared towards
prevention of strikes, improvement of economic rights and address workers rights
within the context of the goals of the country to achieve rapid economic
development. Collective bargaining became impossible under those conditions;
instead, the government set mechanisms for fixing wages and other fringe benefits.
Workers were introduced to the culture of wages/salary increase announcements by
the government during May Day. With the enactment of the permanent Labour
Tribunal Act of 1967 after the promulgation of the Arusha Declaration in the same
year, the number of strikes declined further.
Phase Three: From 1998 to present
Trade unions in Tanzania were legally made autonomous from 1998 where the
OTTU Act was repealed by the Trade Union Act No. 10 of 1998 in which the Trade
Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) as a federation was established in 2001
legally replacing OTTU (Bana&Mukandala, 2006).
With the election of the OTTU leadership in 1995, the organization and its affiliates
decided to change the name of the umbrella organization to Tanzania Federation of
14
Free Trade Unions (TFTU). Between 1995 and 2000, the organization had two
names; the officially recognized OTTU and the unofficial one TFTU. This is
because the law that had established OTTU remained intact. It was only with the
repeal of the OTTU Act the enactment of the Trade Union Act No. 10 of 1998,
which came into operation in 2000 that it was registered as the Trade Union
Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA).
Trade Union Act was enacted in order to accommodate the demand for independent
trade unions. With the Trade Union Act, these union developments gained a legal
basis. With the act the national centre, TFTU, was technically dissolved, and the
existing industrial trade union had to re register.
Collective bargaining is recognized in law but does not apply to the public sector,
where the government sets wages. Collective agreements must be submitted to the
Industrial Court for approval and may be refused registration if they do not conform
to the government’s economic policy.
The Government may suspend a trade union if it considers that it violates the law or
its own regulations, or that public security or public orders are thereby endangered.
Trade union Act makes provisions covering the establishment of the office of the
registrar of trade unions, modalities of registration of trade unions, power of the
Registrar, requirements of the unions to be registered, formation of federation of
trade unions and consultative bodies, management of trade union funds, rights and
liabilities.
The registrar of trade unions is vested with the functions of overall administration of
the Trade union Act. The law is however silent on whether she has powers to
intervene in trade unions internal disputes or election of leaders. The trade union act
spells out modalities of registration and appeal procedures. Every trade union has to
be registered with the Registrar in order to acquire legitimacy.
The registrar for certain reasons may dissolve a registered trade union. The decision
of the registrar to refuse or cancel a registration may be taken to appeal in the High
Court of Tanzania. The Registrar of Trade Union is empowered to cancel the
15
certificate of registration if it is proved the union is operating outside its intended
objectives or that its funds are expended unlawfully.
In 2001, 11 former unions became affiliates of the federation. They include;
Communication and Transport Workers Union (COTWU), Conservation, Hotels
Domestic and Allied Workers Union (CHODAWU) Research, Academicians and
Allied Workers Union(RAAWU) Tanzania Local Government Workers Union
(TALGWU), Tanzania Mines and Construction Workers Union (TAMICO),
Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (TPAWU), Tanzania Teachers
Union (TTU), Tanzania Union of Government and Health Employees (TUGHE), and
Tanzania Union of Industries and Commercial Workers (TUICO) which is the main
focus of this research paper.
Theoretical and Empirical review
The theoretical and empirical review section is intended to explain some theoretical
highlights in respect of the effectiveness of trade unions in implementing their roles.
It is important to review such theoretical issues because it helps to understanding the
framework of the study.
The Role of Trade Unions in the Implementation of the Laws
From the historical point of view trade unions were generally established for the
purpose of protecting the working lives of workers. The main objective of trade
union is to promote the interest of its members, due regard being paid to the interest
of the total labour force and to the greater national interest. To achieve this aim,
trade unions have a duty to maintain the viability of the undertaking by ensuring
cooperation with management in measures to promote efficiency and good industrial
relations.
Trade unions have a number of functions, some of which have been more prominent
than others at different periods in history. These are respectively a service function;
a representation function; a regulatory function; a government function; and a public
administration function. (Ewing 2005)
16
Representation Function
The main representative function is the role of collective bargaining to trade union.
Trade unions negotiate and enter into agreements with the employers so as to reach
agreements which regulate working conditions. The collective agreements reached
by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working conditions, training,
health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms and the rights to participate in
workplace or company affairs (BLS Information). The union acts as a bridge
between employers and employees in their collective bargaining, however, the most
challenging factor is how trade unions are active in making sure that employers do
not subject employees on issues which are seen as giving employees more freedom.
Collective bargaining is very important and it brings positive agreements between
employer and employees. When trade unions perform this function effectively, it
normally brings positive implications to the workplace in general. It increases the
bargaining capacity of employees as a group; they restrict management’s freedom for
arbitrary action against the employees. Moreover, unilateral actions by the employer
are also discouraged as everything will be agreed collectively. Effective collective
bargaining machinery strengthens the trade unions movement, workers feel
motivated as they can approach the management on various matters and bargain for
higher benefits (Shashank 2012).
It is however argued that; despite their role in collective bargaining for the workers’
wages and working conditions, Trade unions are not legally powerful to make it
possible to enforce the employer to provide good wages and working conditions at
workplaces. Many registered trade unions have not been using its legal power to
negotiate with employers on what wages and working conditions should their
employees be provided. Still the government, political willingness on salary
increases and working conditions are used to influence the unions accepts the terms
of reference and once it is contrary to their expectation, employers use tactics of
firing all workers and hiring new ones in order to continue surviving (Srivastava,
2007).
17
Collective agreements present a good picture of participatory leadership though the
final decision to meet the demands of the employees is vested under the management
and not the union itself. However, in places where workers council is strong, it may
be possible to have representations which sometimes do not only consider the union
members rather to include others who may not be members but need to get their
rights accordingly by the management.
Regulatory Functions
Trade unions perform regulatory functions by ensuring harmonious industrial
relations at work places. Trade unions are vital partners in an industrial relations
system. Today this role does not need much explanation as we have an audience of
experienced industrial relations practitioners. However, we should put in mind that -
even where there is a mutual consensus on the working of an industrial relations
system the basic conflict between capital and labour will still remain. (Tee Hock,
1992). The labour unions are expected to be active in ensuring job security and
suitable working environment in order to have harmonious industrial relations.
Tuan, (1992) The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industrial Development in
Sarawak Malaysia argues that; the resistance of harmonious industrial relations in the
workplace is manifested by lack of prolonged and protracted industrial disputes,
strikes or lock-outs, industrial disruptions commonly found elsewhere. To him,
harmonious state of industrial relations owes its origin to the responsible attitude
adopted by union leaders and members.
Tanzania is not an exception to these scenario as it is clearly witnessed in some
undertakings where Trade unions plays a very good role in ensuring that there is a
harmonious industrial relation. A good example is Tanzania Cigarette Company Ltd
where employer and employees are in a very good industrial relation. This is
because of the good role played by TUICO.
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Government and Public Administration function
Trade unions perform the government and administrative function through education,
because through education members are kept together and trade unions are able to
function as a mini democracy. Participatory processes are only possible if members
are educated enough. (Ko Tee Hock Ibid). Education which is provided by the union
leaders aimed at raising awareness to their members on issues like rights and duties,
the do’s and don’ts. When this succeeds, then it provides the society with better
educated and more responsible workers, workers becomes confident and alert and
this creates difficulties for a management who still relies on a paternalistic master-
servant relationship in handling their employees.
Most of the industrial disputes that are happening in Tanzania happen because of
lack of knowledge by the employees and sometimes employers. You will find an
employee stays at home just because he is sick without knowing his duty to submit
sick sheet to his employer which will justify his absence at work. So when trade
union leaders stand well in their education role, many labour cases that are witnessed
today could be a history, many workplaces will be a living heaven.
Trade unions help their members with various problems that are happening in the
field, they represent them in issues like redundancy, grievance, disciplinary
procedures and legal actions. They provide information, advice and support to people
who belong to trade union. This is a very crucial function that is appreciated by the
members because most of them are not aware of these procedures. Moreover, many
firms/organizations that have the union branch tend to have better wages and
conditions than those in non-unionized workplaces.
Despite the fact that all trade unions seek to have objectives of demanding good rate
of pay, good working arrangements, job security for their members, and influence
over government policy; still trade unions have not managed to bring changes in their
objectives, changes are very little because government policy does not give them full
mandate of demanding such rights, usually, it intervenes when serious discussions
prevail. This is the same to even represent employees who feel their rights have been
19
infringed by the employers. The problem here is caused by lack of strong union
leaders who are familiar with labour laws and the interpretation thereof.
Constrains to Trade union in implementing their objectives
There are various factors that limit trade unions in implementing their objectives.
These factors weaken unions; some of the problems facing trade unions in African
countries including Tanzania are challenged by globalization, revolution in
production technologies and new management styles. Splintering, changing
mentality, mismanagement of funds, lack of innovation and visionary leadership are
a big handicap (Masanja and Raha, 2004).
Sustainability of funds is another constrain to trade unions. Trade unions heavily
rely on donors fund on one hand, and on the other hand the unions are forced to rely
upon member subscriptions or other mechanism of raising fund. This reduces their
power to pressurize employers to comply with their needs as sometimes employers
pay for transport and accommodation allowances for trade union leaders so as to
enable them attend important labour meetings (Bauer, 1993). This is one of the
biggest limitation which is also evidenced in Tanzania where majority of trade
unions (if not all) depended solely on union subscription fees and donors fund to run
their unions, they do not have any other source of income like business or investment
which would sustain them in case membership is reduced and when donors fund is
not enough.
The financial crisis that is facing trade union has been worsened by the actions of
some of the high positions leaders who are alleged to have embezzled the union’s
fund. Example can be drawn in Tanzania in 2009 where TUCTA Secretary General
was suspended over allegations of financial mismanagement. He was alleged to have
spent funds of the union for personal gains. Having failed to disprove the allegation
he found himself out of the chair.
Another limitation which is widely argued is the current trends of globalization
transform trade unions into outdated institutions. These include development in
20
terms of organizational and technological changes that have taken place in industry;
the influence of current international competition; changes in the labour market and
the emergence of new forms of personnel management where Casualization of the
labour force, outsourcing and practice of short term contracts plus the earlier stated
problems have resulted in great loss of trade union members and revenue to sustain
trade union activities (Gardawski, 2002).
Moreover, the 'traditional' working class which works in large factories is gradually
disappearing, whereas the number of workers employed on fixed-term or part-time
contracts is increasing, with employees no longer permanently attached to one
workplace. All these factors tend to reduce trade union membership and influence.
This has weakened the solidarity within the union as workers are now concentrating
on completion of their contracts and what they will gain, they don’t have time to sit
and discuss union matters.
It was also observed by Chris in his paper on What role for trade unions in future
workplace relations that; the growth of unorganized workers with short term
contract, indirect forms of contract such as agency labour and those who depend self-
employment has been a challenge to the union in organizing them as many workers
concentrate on their contract and do not prioritize organization (Chris, 2011)
Effect of globalization and technological advancement have also led to termination
of many trade union members who are not very much equipped with the new
technology, machines also replaces a big number of employee in many undertakings.
This has affected the union membership as a big number of trade union members
find themselves out of the office.
There is also a very limited ‘bargaining autonomy’ on the party of the trade unions.
Bargaining power of trade unions has been limited by several factors in different
industries: depending on the number of members the union has and available Acts
which were enacted by the government to make some trade unions are weak in
negotiating for wages, social justice and working hours as well as job security in a
competitive labour market.
21
Moreover; most of the strong unionists who were in the front line to fight for the
members’ rights have left for better pays in other company and government
institutions. In Namibia for example, unions are drained by influential officials who
move to a more secure and well-paid positions within government. Many of the more
experienced trade unionists (those who essentially brought the movement into being)
are now sitting in various government Ministries and other offices. (Bueaue, 1993)
Collective bargaining is also weakened and discouraged by new employers. They
prefer and entertain individual contracts. This is one of the indicators of the anti-
union attitude of the new employers, which trade unions have to cope with (Hassan,
2004).
Additionally, struggle for identity weaken unions, for instance in Tanzania many
trade union leaders forget about their main responsibility of representing workers and
concentrate on their own interest. These acts involve a debate as to whether trade
unions are able to represent the interest of all sectors which are part of the union.
The outcome of the dissatisfaction caused some members to resort and form new
trade unions (Babeiya, 2011). A recent scenario is witnessed where some dissatisfied
TUICO members decided to detach themselves and decide to form a new union, the
Finance, Industrial, Banking, Utilities, Commercial and Agro Processing Industries
Trade Union (FIBUCA).
Also Researchers and Academicians Workers Union (RAAWU) have witnessed
some of its former members defecting to establish the Tanzania Higher Learning
Institutions Trade Union (THTU). Moreover the post office staff recently shifted
their membership from Communication and Transport Workers Union (COTWU) to
the newly established Telecommunication Workers Union of Tanzania (TEWUTA).
These internal conflicts make Trade Unions spend more of their time trying to
resolve issues that add no value to the required efforts for promoting and defending
workers’ rights. (Babeiya ibid)
Individualism among trade unions is another limitation towards strong working class
in the working world. Most of the time Tanzania’s Trade unions tended to pursue
22
individualistic approach. Each trade union seems only concerned with the affairs
directly affects its members, as a result there has been no partnership among these
unions in addressing various problem that are facing the Tanzanian workers. This
problem is witnessed by the increase in the number of registered trade union in the
country. Currently we have a total of 24 registered trade unions.
Meena (1997) when addressing the 1993 incident which teachers in Dar es Salaam
called for a strike against the government in demanding for improved working
conditions and social welfare argues that ‘… it is of interest that teachers were alone
in this struggle. They did not get any support from other workers union who were
going through more or less similar crises. While university academics had more or
less grievances, they did not take this opportunity to fellow teachers and collectively
bargain for their rights’
A similar case that indicates lack of solidarity among trade unions in Tanzania is that
of Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL), since 2008 they have been raising various
claims against the new management but they did not get support from other trade
unions. More surprising is that even TUCTA which is the Congress for some Trade
unions in the country seems to be redundant, because its role is not clear as it has
failed to act as a collective force in bringing all trade unions together to champion the
promotion and protection of workers’ rights. (Babeiya, 2011)
Another barrier to the growth of trade unions is the lack of strong leaders. Ibreck,
(2009) emphasized that it is the role a leader to show the organizational mission.
Whether or not; trade unions are effectively influencing the positive response of the
employers, depending on the smartness of these leaders. However as Babeiya, 2011
commented, the experience in Tanzania shows that trade unions have had weak
leadership. It is only two unions; Tanzania Railway Workers Union (TRAWU) and
Teachers trade union (CWT) leaders who seem to be at least active in challenging
government decisions and actions. The leaders of the two unions have used various
means to influence the government; they use boycott, strikes and sometimes media to
enable their voice to be heard.
23
Unions are more-over facing with difficulties that many employers threaten to fire
some employees who seem to be pioneers in negotiating for wages demands and
good working conditions, for that virtue, it becomes easy to silence them as far as
their employment is concerned. However, weak trade unions have been finding
themselves confederate with strong ones in order to have negotiating power with
employers in a certain industry but still this has not brought much changes in
bargaining power. This is an extreme example which indicates that not all unions
have autonomy in wages bargaining with employers whether in the public or private
sector. Only new changes in labour laws will empower trade unions to have strong
bargaining power on all aspects of wages, working conditions, social justice and job
security. (Frias, 2006)
2.3 Theoretical Framework of the Study
In this context, the study is guided by the Pluralistic perspective theory of industrial
relations. This theory states perceives the organization is made of powerful divergent
sub groups, each with its own legitimate loyalties and with their own set of
objectives and leaders.
In particular, the two predominant sub-groups in the pluralistic perspective are the
management and trade unions. Consequently, the role of management would lean
less towards enforcing and controlling and more toward persuasion and co-
ordination. Trade unions are deemed as legitimate representatives of employees;
conflict is dealt by collective bargaining and is viewed not necessarily as a bad thing
and, if managed, could in fact be channeled towards evolution and positive change.
Although, employers or organizations will like to operate without trade unions
(because everything on the rights and benefits of the employees are dealt according
to exiting national policies and laws); still there is need of a forum which bring the
two groups together and reach mutual understanding on matters of interest to all.
Collective bargaining is the important aspect in running of the organization.
Conflicts arise at workplace due to regulations which favours the employers. It thus
presents an important forum which will involve transparency, integrity and ethics in
fulfilling objectives of the organization as team work spirit and fairness are the motto
24
of all parties rather than discrimination which leads to frequent conflicts at work
places.
2.4 Stakeholders Attitude and Perception on Trade Unions
Besides playing a role in the fight for better working conditions, trade unions have
had (and continue to have) a key role in the building of social movements and the
developing of social changes. The role of trade unions has been very varied. In some
countries, where fascist and communist regimes were in place, trade unions were
overtaken or created by state authorities and the political elite and turned into a tool
for their oppressive regimes, as a result of this historical reality, many people are
doubtful of the role that trade unions can play, and only lately have the workers
started to recognize the positive role of trade unions in the fight for protecting their
rights. (OPPapers, 2011)
Despite the fact that trade unions are doing a very tremendous work in safeguarding
interests of their members yet they are not getting enough support from the
employers, this is because many employers have mindset that allowing trade unions
will empower employees to demand more pays and improvement of working
conditions which they cannot afford to fulfill because of the business model
characteristics of profit making organizations and general attitude on the valuing
rights of employees by the employers.
The existence of the trade unions has been opposed by many employers and these
efforts weaken the strength of the trade unions in collective bargaining. This
negativity has enforced some members of the trade to use strikes as the way of
demanding their rights. As Shafie (2011) argued employers must change the old
attitude and perception that trade unions are confrontational. Actually, the employers
must look after the workers, due to the presence of the forces of globalization and
liberalization seeks to have smart partnership among employees and employers.
However due to past history of trade unions, it has been perceived by many
employers that unions are formed to confront the employers by demanding what
employers cannot provide.
25
This attitude has not created good industrial relations at workplaces; workers are
forced to strike in order to get their rights. Employers are not open in discussing
issues of employees through collective bargaining rather directions are mostly given
to the trade unions instead of collective bargaining through representation of
employees. Trade unions which face this negative attitude tend to be more defensive
and use labour relations laws to strike to enable their voices to be heard.
Since its inception, trade unionism has faced stiff opposition from employers Sinha,
et al (2006). Employers whether in the public or private sectors have negative
attitudes to the trade unions. It is possible for the government and other employers to
use its political power, economic pressures and administrative devices to prevent the
density of trade unions at workplaces and drastically decline occurs in order to give
some relief to the employers in fulfilling the demands of the employees. Even though
the labour relations laws permit the formation and registration of trade unions, still
chances of empowering them are limited by the employers in the Tanzanian
environment. This has affected many employees and their rights, particularly,
salaries depend on the political willingness of the state to increase salaries; and the
situation is worse in private sectors where trade unions leaders may be threatened to
lose their jobs.
Unionization at workplaces is perceived by employees as a fundamental value
(Zammit, 2002). This is because it helps the members to have representation to the
management where matters relating to their rights are discussed on behalf of them.
However, one important thing to the members is making sure that they rely on the
principles of workers’ representation on which the unions are established for and not
otherwise, this will help to strengthen their union hence make their voice heard.
The traditional view of the employer/trade union relationship has been one of
confrontation. However, in most cases employers and union representatives have a
constructive relationship. Indeed, it is possible to identify several advantages of
unionization from the employers’ point of view;
26
Negotiating with trade unions (ideally a single union) saves time and cost rather than
dealing with all employees individually, Unions are part of the communication
process between the business and employees, Employee morale and motivation may
be improved if they know that their interests are being protected by a union they can
also be a supportive partner in helping a business undergo significant change (Jim,
2012) However few organizations have recognized the need of trade unions at the
workplaces and for this case very few trade unions field branches have been formed
in workplaces to represent their members in the collective bargaining process. Yet,
this unionization has so far not brought any fruits to the side of the employees as
employers have been protecting their interests on the expense of the labour force.
In a nutshell studies undertaken by Sinha (2006) and Damachi (2009) in Ghana have
indicated that trade unions are faced with opposition from employers despite the
good work; they have been assisting the management to deal with labour relations at
workplaces. And in the case of Tanzania, Keita, S (2010) has also pointed out the
problems facing trade unions in Tanzania is the negative attitudes and perception by
the employers. But Zammit (2002) in his study on the perception of members on
trade unions showed that members have confidence with their unions to fight for
their rights at work places. The three authors agree in principle that despite the big
job that union does, their struggle are put down by the management.
2.5 Research Gap
Many studies have been done on trade unions in the battle for rights of employee
but still none has done on the contribution of trade unions in implementation of
labour laws.
This study is going to explore extensively, the role that is played by the trade unions
TUICO specifically in implementing labour law.
The literature reviewed shows that previous studies focused on collective bargaining
and effectiveness of trade unions in harmonizing Industrial relations. But none has
written on the role played by trade union in ensuring labour laws are implemented
effectively.
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CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
Research methodology is the way of systematically solving the research problem. It
may be understood as a sense of studying how research is done scientifically. In it
various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying the research
problem along with the logic behind them are presented. It is necessary for the
researcher to know not only the research methods but also the methodology (Kothari,
2007)
3.2 Area of Study
The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam, the selection of the area consider the fact
that the headquarter of the TUICO is based in this area and many employees are
located in this area, also the fact that the region is the hub of economic and social
development it makes many employees aggressive and be informed of their rights.
The selection of the area of study also helped the researcher to get access to literature
which is abundant in public and private libraries.
The study was conducted within the Ministry of Labour and Employment and her
stake holders, i.e The Commission for Mediation and Arbitration, Tanzania Union of
Industries and Commerce (TUICO) and three firms that fall under the umbrella of
TUICO trade union namely; Uchumi Super Market, Urafiki Textile Industry and
Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC)
3.3 Research Design
A research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data
to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure (Kothari,
2004). It is a conceptual structure within which research is conducted constituting
data collection, measurement and analysis of data. Research design determines what,
where, when, how much and by what means an inquiry shall be done. It facilitates
28
the smooth running of various research operations and thereby making the research
process efficient and at lowest costs.
Research design allows the use of various data collection which among others
includes interview, observation and literature from the library. It helps in planning
the methodology to be deployed in collecting relevant data and techniques to be used
in analysis taking into consideration of availability of personnel, time and money.
The researcher have used qualitative method of data collection to assess the role that
TUICO play in the implementation of the labour law. The sample taken was small
enough to enable the researcher get enough information despite the shortage of time
in collecting data.
This study involved Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers
(TUICO) in Dar es Salaam Region. By doing this research in Dar es Salaam it was
easy to collect both primary and secondary also all target respondents were easily
obtained in this location.
3.4 Population of the Study
The population of this study was employees employed in Industrial and commercial
sector and who are working in Dar es Salaam, TUICO Leaders from the headquarters
of the Union and employers of Industrial and Trade sector in Tanzania mainland and
Government Officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
3.5 Sample Size and Sampling procedure
3.5.1 Sample size
A sample size is the selected number of respondents to represent others in data
collection as representation of the whole population. The sample size of this study
consisted of 29 respondents whereby 16 were employees (out of which 10 primary
school leavers, 3 secondary school leavers and 3 college leavers), 6 TUICO union
branch leaders (all were secondary school leavers), 2 TUICO national leaders
(College leavers), 3 management from three companies and 2 government officials
(College leavers). This sample size is selected because they are key stakeholders
dealing with trade unions and implementation of the labour laws, as Trade unionist
29
has the role of unionizing for bargaining for their wages, working hours and
conditions, job security and social justice, employers are responsible for hiring
workers and ensuring their rights are equally met; and Officers from the Ministry of
Labour concerned with labour laws administration and policy making.
3.5.2 Sampling Techniques
This study used random sampling and purposive sampling techniques to obtain the
sample. Random sampling technique used to obtain 18 respondents out of which 16
were employees in the three firms and 2 Government officials, and purposive
sampling techniques used to obtain 11 respondents which include 3 employers, 6
trade union field branches and 2 TUICO national leaders.
The researcher applied random sampling technique because it said to be the best
techniques to obtain an optimum sample. Kothari (1990:56) random sampling
design, every item of the universe has an equal chance of inclusion in, and the results
obtained from probability or random sampling can be assured in terms of probability
i.e., errors can be measure on estimation or the significance of results obtained from
a random sample, and this fact brings out the superiority of random sampling design
over the deliberate sampling design. This is the reason why this study considered
random sampling as the best technique of selecting a representative sample.
Purposive sampling was also used to identify certain group of people that will help
the researcher in obtaining certain important information from them, this sampling is
mainly used to people who are directly involved in the research topic.
3.5.3 Sampling Procedures
The researchers selected the sample assisted by Trade union leaders at field
branches; the process was simplified since TUICO branch leaders were respected by
their members, also TUICO headquarters helped to identify organization that would
be co-operative in presenting data. The researcher asked the consent of TUICO
leader to participate in the process of sample selection. They agreed to participate.
Selection of sample based on period of employment, education background, gender
and the readiness of respondents to be interviewed.
30
3.6 Data Collection Methods
This is a qualitative research which involves both primary and secondary data. These
methods were specifically chosen, so as to fulfill the objectives of the research.
However, the usage of the data depended on its validity and accuracy. The purpose
of using primary data is that, data is fresh and first hand data which has not been
used in any publication. These were obtained through questionnaires and interviews
from the target respondents. Secondary data on the other hand is already used data
from prints and non-prints such as newspapers, books, journals and e-journals or e-
books found in libraries and online information which was accessed through internet.
The usefulness of these data is that they use very few resources (in terms of time and
money) used to obtain secondary data; they are permanent and are in the form which
can be checked easily.
3.6.1 Questionnaires
The researcher used open and closed ended type of questionnaire because they
helped the respondents to provide correct data and assisting in minimizing costs as
the sample size will not be too large to allow more costs. However, the method is
good because it helped the researcher to reach respondents easily who could not have
enough time for interviewing.
3.6.2 Interviews
Interviews are face to face conversations between the interviewer and interviewee.
This study used interview method because it enabled the researcher to get more
information from the interviewee as clarity of points was easily made and the sample
of the study covered by this method was very small. Additionally, it was also
possible to have extra questions during the interviewing process due to flexibility of
the method. This method mainly covered trade unions, employers and government
officials in order to have more accurate information on the research problem.
3.6.3 Documentary review
This covers reviewing various prints and non-prints in order to have information
necessary for the study. This included books available in the library, reports and
31
electronic journals or books which could be accessed through internet. This method
is good because it assisted the researcher to get extra information already written by
others on the subject matter and assisted in filling the gap which other methods of
data collection did not cover effectively.
3.7 Data Analysis
Collected data was analyzed using content analysis. In this method units of data
were coded, categorized and entered into frequency tables and percentage
distribution. However, this enabled to give frequencies though not in absolute
numbers but in percentage in order to make comparisons. As the unit of study is
small, no complicated computer programmes was used.
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CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
FINDINGS
4.1 Data Presentation
This chapter presents data analysis and discussion of the findings on the role that
TUICO plays in labour laws implementation in Tanzania. It attempted to identify,
various mechanism used in demanding for members’ rights, the constraints they face,
understanding how TUICO participated in setting the Minimum wage, and determine
stake holder’s perception as discussed in various literatures review in chapter two.
Data was collected from three firms based on individual and firms data. Data is
presented in description and figures through comparative approach across firms. The
chapter is organized in themes, based on research objective and question on the role
that TUICO plays in the in the implementation of the labour law.
Firm one was Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC):
The Company is a Tanzania-based company engaged in the manufacturing,
marketing and sale of cigarette and tobacco products. Their products are sold in the
local market and they also export some. The company has a total number of 598
employees.
The firm also has a very active TUICO union branch, and the employer is a member
of Employers Association of Tanzania.
Firm two was Urafiki Textile Mills.
The firm is owned by a joint venture between the government of Tanzania and China
since 1997. Tanzania owns 49% shares while China owns 51%. A firm is fully
integrated textile mill and produces Khanga and Kitenge. The production process is
based on spinning, weaving and processing. Their products are sold in the local
market. The firm has a total of 760 employees. There is a TUICO Union Branch at
the firm level.
33
Firm three was Uchumi Supermarket
It is one of the biggest Supermarkets in the country. It is a Kenyan based super
market. It is located in Dar es salaam-Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The company
has a total of 235 employees, the firm deals with a retail business of various domestic
products. There is a TUICO Union branch at the plant.
The research was governed by three research questions:
(a) How active is TUICO in collective bargaining?
(b) Did TUICO participate in setting the minimum wages?
(c) What factors hamper TUICO to implement labour laws effectively?
As it was described in chapter three, data was collected from three categories of the
respondents through questionnaire and interview. These categories were employees
(including TUICO leaders from headquarters) employers and Government officials
from the Ministry of labour and Employment as they are the ones responsible for
administration of the labour law. Through all the two methods, the researcher
addressed diverse issues that guided the study based on the classification of the
respondents.
4.2 General Respondents
A total of 29 respondents were interviewed out of which 3 were employers one from
each firms, 16 employees, 6 trade union branch representative (two from each firm)
and 2 Trade union national leaders. There were also 2 Government officials from the
Ministry of Labour and Employment, One from Labour Department and another
from Commission for Mediation and Arbitration.
4.2.1 Workers Education
Majority of workers that were interviewed from Uchumi Supermarket and Urafiki
were unskilled labourers with low level of education. Most of the workers were not
well informed on various requirement of the law, thus it was easy for them to be
mistreated as they did not know what was their rights and privileges are, and
employers taking advantage of their ignorance to benefit themselves. It was only
34
those workers who form management teams that were well-informed on the
requirements of the law.
Tanzania Cigarette Company has semi-skilled workers; three out of six workers that
were interviewed were machine-operators with low level of education while the other
three were college leavers holding Officers positions.
In summary, majority of workers were not very much conversant with the workers
education and for those who were educated they were less interested with the union
matters.
An example from the sample population of the study revealed that:-
7 workers out of 16 respondents were unskilled labourers with no skill
at all, they just completed primary school;
6 of them completed secondary education and 3 attended college.
These three respondents at least had some knowledge on their areas of expertise,
they were also able to sit and discuss with the management on their terms and
conditions of employment, but the two groups above were just waiting for the ready-
made terms which are already formulated by employer. The education data can be
well-elaborated in the figure below:-
35
Figure 1Total respondents in terms of Education
Source: Data from fieldwork, collected in March, 2013
Figure 1 shows that, the education level of respondents is very low, most of the
workers fall under primary and secondary education. As explained earlier the total
number of primary education workers is 7 out of 16 which represent 43.7% of total
respondent and 37.5% were secondary education while college level represents only
18.7%.
This data implies that majority of interviewed workers were unskilled with low level
of education, lack of education lead to poor bargaining powers and skills, most of
these workers have no bargaining skills also it makes hard for them to understand the
Labour law and claim what is their rights confidently.
4.2.2 Gender Distribution
In terms of gender distribution data shows that the number of women in all the three
firms Urafiki, Tanzania Cigarette Company and Uchumi super market were lower
than men. At Uchumi super market numbers of women were a bit high in the cash
section. In other sections the number of women employees was very low. Generally,
36
from the three firms the number of men was very high compared to women; this
could be caused by the nature of the firms’ production. The Researcher also
observed that in TCC and Urafiki the nature of the work involves masculinity to run
the machines as well as long working hours that is why men were many compared to
women.
Total number of women was 9 out of 29 respondents representing 29% of total
respondent while men were 20 respondents representing 71% of the sample
population study. It is clear that the researcher conducted a free bias study as gender
was taken into consideration in order to have equal representation of the respondents
during data collection. This means that population of the study participated in
providing data for the study as one way of getting reliable and valid information
without any prejudice of excluding any sex.
4.3 Analysis and Discussions of Major Findings
4.3.1 The role of TUICO in implementing Labour law
The question on the function of trade union in implementing labour law was asked to
establish the views of the respondents on their general understanding on the role of
TUICO as trade union; this question was addressing the entire three objectives so as
to identify the role that Trade union plays in representing workers rights and to
ensure that workers’ rights are adhered to by employers.
Literature review presented earlier indicated that trade union has numerous
functions; however all the functions were grouped into three categories which
include regulatory function, government function and public administration function
(Ewing, 2005).
During the interview, researcher observed that respondents knew the role that trade
unions are suppose to perform, their response were in conformity with the literature
review presented earlier. In this research question the researcher was interested to
investigate whether TUICO play their role effectively in the course of implementing
37
the labour law and hence meet the expectation of their members. The responses
differ across firms;
4.3.1.1 Employees’ View
The study revealed different views from employees across three firms on the role that
TUICO plays in the implementation of the labour law. Many employees that were
interviewed mention various roles that they expect TUICO to perform in the course
of implementing the law;
Demanding for better pays
On the role of demanding for better pay employees from TCC disclose that, in their
undertaking TUICO has done a very good job in terms of demanding for better pays,
this was witnessed by the level of salary and allowances that they are being paid, all
employees at TCC are paid far above the government minimum wage, they
appreciate the good work done by TUICO in their firm and the responsiveness on the
side of their employer. Example the current minimum wage in the Firm is 256,000/=
as compared to the Government Minimum wage which is 100,000/= in Trade and
Industry sector.
From Uchumi supermarket the study revealed that workers were not impressed by
what their union leaders are doing, to them TUICO needs to stand in their position
and fight for their members rights. Despite the fact that they are being paid above
the Minimum wage, there is still no security of employment, termination cases are
happening daily.
Response from Urafiki textile shows dissatisfaction of workers on TUICOs
performance. Most of the workers were not satisfied with their employment
condition, despite the fact that TUICO branch and National leaders have tried several
time to sit with the management the working condition is worsening as days goes by.
Management always complain that they run in loss while employees witness the
increase in production daily. One employee stated that; apart from the little salary
38
they get, they are not enjoying any other benefits, no salary increase unless the
government announces new minimum wage rate.
“... I have worked with Urafiki Textile for the past fifteen years yet my salary does
not differ with my colleagues who were recently employed....”
Data above shows that, even though TUICO try to perform their role, they are faced
with the challenge of power of employer which most of the time depress their move.
Basing on the finding above and considering the fact that in order to improve
performance of the organisation, better payment is inevitable, employees feel that
TUICO have failed to convince management to improve their salary to better
payment. The researcher feels that the workers claim are genuine on one hand but on
the other hand even though TUICO strive harder in terms of fighting for better pay
yet at the end of the day it is the employer who has the final decision to improve the
salary or not.
Improving working environment
Literature review presented in the previous section indicates that; Trade Unions are
required and expected to ensure there is favourable working environment at the work
place to enable workers to work comfortably and hence increase productivity.
In explaining this; the researcher observed mixed views, while respondents from
TCC workers admitted and appreciate the role done by TUICO and the
responsiveness of their management in terms of improving working conditions. On
the other hand respondents from Urafiki textile responded that to them TUICO have
persuaded employer to improve the physical working environment. They argued that
TUICO has contributed a lot in making their working conditions healthier than it was
before. Previously there were no protective gears like gloves and mask, but with the
help of the union the employer have started providing them. This shows that, before
TUICOs intervention many workers in manufacturing sectors were working in a very
difficult environment.
39
There was a divergent view from Uchumi supermarket, while few respondents from
the cash section admit to have favourable environment, others respondents from the
store department had a different view that, they are working in a very difficult
environment, there isn’t enough air in the stores something which make their health
to be at stake. They also did not appreciate what TUICO are doing in terms of
improving their working conditions.
Data from research enunciate that improving working environment is not the only
factor that will lead to high production, employees still need to be paid satisfactory to
satisfy their basic needs as it was observed in Urafiki Textile, though they admit to
have a good working environment and protection gears yet they cry for better pays.
In this sense TUICOs functions depend on one another.
Providing education
In order for a trade union to perform smoothly, its members should be well-informed
on their rights, duties and responsibilities so that they do not commit preventable
acts, contrary to the reality; the study revealed that majority of workers are ignorant
on the requirement of the labour laws. TUICO did not conduct enough training to
their members. A respondent from Urafiki, explained that few field branch leaders
who attended training never brought feed-backs to them. There is no programme set
to enable TUICO train their members to understand the Labour laws.
Data from TCC revealed that; despite the fact that TUICO performs well in the plant,
they lack training programme for their members, and majority of their members are
not well-informed about their right, duties and responsibility as far as employees are
concerned.
From the finding above and considering the fact that in order to make their job easy,
TUICO needs to do whatever it takes to educate their members, despite the cry that
they have funds shortage. It is better to find other sources of fund instead of
depending solely on members’ contribution.
40
Harmonize industrial relation
TUICO as trade union is supposed to ensure that whatever uncertainty arises within
the organisation it is solved and hence mutual understanding is agreed between both
sides failure of which will lead to outbreak of disputes. The researcher observed that
TUICO are more reactive than proactive when it comes to handling employee’s
grievances which many times lead to disputes.
A respondent from Urafiki Textile revealed that trade unions at their undertaking do
not harmonize industrial relation at their work place; he states that this is only done
when there is an underground move to conduct a strike. That is when trade union
intervenes and claims to sit with the management, however at the end of the day;
nothing is being done to improve whatever they have been demanding.
TCC respondent stated that once there is a dispute between management and
workers, they normally sit and discuss with the aid of TUICO Union leaders and
come out with the bilateral agreements. On the other hand Uchumi supermarket
respondents were of the view that; TUICO union branch are not that much strong to
sit and discuss with the management on staff welfare, they only implement what has
been decided by the Management.
The study revealed that TUICO has strived to improve working condition of its
members in terms of ensuring that the environment in which they are working with is
conducive, however it has failed to perform other roles like harmonizing industrial
relations at work place. The TUICO seems to have abandoned their role of
demanding for better wages and provision of education to their members as many
employees seems to be disappointed by TUICOs performance.
This finding is in line with the observation by Tee hock (1992) who stated that Trade
unions are expected to be active in ensuring job security and suitable working
environment so as to have harmonious industrial relation in an organisation. So to
ensure that they win their members’ interest TUICO should work on ensuring there is
harmonious industrial relation at work places.
41
4.3.1.2 TUICO’S Responses (In Implementation of Labour Law)
TUICO
On their response TUICO Leaders argued that they are doing whatever it takes to sit
with management and discuss about the affairs of their members, though they have
not satisfied their members’ expectation, they cannot be judged to have not done
anything at all.
A respondent from TUICO headquarters stated that, they represent their members in
various litigations which are before the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration
(CMA) or any other courts of law, the respondent argues also that TUICO represent
their members in voluntary negotiation with their employers and also represent their
members in the Minimum wage boards.
TUICO however admitted that, they are facing with many challenges in the course of
implementing their duties, problem of shortage of fund hinders their movements and
performance of their duties, a respondent from TUICO headquarters stated that
TUICO have tried to contact various sponsors but yet their problem has not yet been
satisfactorily addressed. They are also faced with uneasy employers who do not
understand their role and always think they are the source of industrial disputes at
their working places. Another constraint is lack of education among their members.
TUICO’s role according to them can be elaborated in the figure below;
42
Figure 2TUICOs responses on their Role
From the findings above, the resercher observed that TUICO union leaders are trying
to ensure industrial harmony by fighting for better pays, ensuring that there are
condusive working environment and representing their members in litigation, but
shortage of funds and negative perception of employers seems to hinder their
struggle.
4.3.1.3 Employers’ Responses
Three employers from Uchumi supermarket, Tanzania Cigarette Company and
Urafiki had different responses. TCC and partly Urafiki supported the job done by
trade union. A respondent from TCC stated that, TUICO has done a tremendous job
in enhancing peaceful industrial relation in his undertaking, he admitted that, at first
he had very negative perception on TUICO, however, the moment he decided to sit
and discuss with them, he realized how helpful they are.
A respondent from Urafiki argued that, the voluntary agreement entered with his
employees through TUICO has made the life of the company easy, everything is now
under control. According to him despite the fact that they did not come into
conclusion in all the demands of his employee, yet few agreements they signed have
improved industrial relations which have impact in increasing productivity.
43
On the other hand employer from Uchumi Supermarket responded that, Trade unions
are very stubborn and that, before TUICO visited his undertaking there was peace
between employees and the employer, but the TUICO started operating – there was
no more peace and thus troubles emerged. Employees began to claim things they
never claimed before, they do not never wanted to spend extra time working
regardless of whether the work has completed or not. All they want is overtime
payments for a single minute they spend in the firm.
The respondent argued further that; the demands of the union are unrealistic, they
demand more than what the employer cannot actually pay, this causes
misunderstanding between the two sides. This can be well elaborated in the figure
below
Figure 3 Employers’ response
Source: Data from fieldwork, collected in March, 2013
The study revealed that despite the fact that TUICO are doing their best to promote
industrial relations yet the employer does not like them to operate in their firms
because they think they bring more trouble by demanding more than what the
company can afford in terms of workers’ rights. The finding is in line with literature
review where there are two different views - one supporting trade unions’ roles and
44
the other are against it. Those who opposed the trade union were of the opinion that
as long as employers are complying with the law there was no need of having trade
unions at work places as they are the source of all the troubles at work places, and
those who supported them view trade unions as partners in industrial development.
The researcher finds the employers’ attitude to be an awkward perception with the
current world of transparent employers ought to have considered the position of trade
union and employees as partners towards the organisation development and
performance and not otherwise.
4.3.1.4 Government’s Responses
Two government officials were interviewed, one from the Labour department (which
is responsible for Administration of the Labour Law) and another officer from The
Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA who are responsible for handling
labour disputes)
A respondent from CMA stated that, trade union has a lot to do in harmonising
industrial relation; however they seem to have failed to do what they were exactly
supposed to do as termination cases before the Commission are increasing as time
goes by. She stated that in 2009 there were 472 termination cases compared to the
increase of 2108 termination cases in 2012 and most of terminations are as a result of
ignorance of the law on the side of employees and few on employers. To the
Researcher, these are caused by lack of education conducted by the union.
To them, despite the fact that employees are union members, when it comes to cases
before the Commission they are not well represented, many times trade union leaders
abandoned them and at the end of the day they lost their cases. Also very few
employees are members of the trade union, a big number of them are not members
thus they are not represented in any stage of their cases something which ends up
losing their cases. To him, TUICO did not perform their duties effectively
something which leads to the increase of termination cases before the Commission.
45
An Officer from Labour Department in the Ministry of Labour stated that, TUICO
are far back in performing their roles, despite the work they have been doing yet
many employers do not comply with the law; she was referring to the 602 labour
inspections conducted by the Ministry in 2012 throughout the country (which came
out with the report of poor industrial relation and compliance of the law). She
further explained that all the areas that they visited, the compliance of the law seems
to be very low, no overtime payments, workers are not going on leave, some are
being paid below statutory minimum wage, they have never been trained by the
union on matters relating to their rights. This is a result of the weakness on the side
of TUICO; they do not educate their members as they were supposed to.
The respondent argued further that; many workers are not members of Trade Unions
because they are either not aware of the importance of being union members or they
don’t know how to go about join and or form a union branch because union leaders
have never visited their undertakings.
Data from Ministry of Labour shows that, out of 602 Labour inspections that was
conducted in the year 2011/2012 in trade and manufacturing industries only in 150
industries there are TUICO union branch, the rest have no union branch. Workers do
not know their rights, this shows that TUICO does not perform their duties properly
as required by the law.
Basing on the findings TUICO has a lot to do in educating their members on various
requirements of the law, many workers are not aware of what their rights are and
duties. From the study it is observed further that TUICO has done very little
compared to what they are actually supposed to. The entire problems occur because
of lack of knowledge to employees and employers on the other hand. TUICOs stand
on their positions then there could be peaceful industrial relations.
46
4.3.2 TUICO and Collective Bargaining
The question on whether or not TUICO participate effectively in entering in
collective agreements with their employer was asked to see how active TUICO is in
bargaining and entering into collective agreement.
For the purpose of understanding collective agreements as discussed in Chapter Two
it means all negotiations which take place between an employer on one hand and
Workers organizations, on the other hand, for the purpose of determining working
conditions and terms of employment (Rutinwa, 2008).
Employee’s Responses
In responding to the question on collective agreements, the researchers observed that
majority of workers were not aware of what collective bargaining is. So, in most
cases the question on whether they have collective agreements or not was not
answered. The researcher also realized that in many firms/organizations, employers
either do not comply with the requirement of the law or comply with the minimum
conditions set by the government. This clearly indicates that TUICO has done little
in negotiating with employers.
Very few respondents who at least know about collective agreements were not happy
with TUICO’s performance. They stated that, TUICO has not done what they are
expected to do, most of the workers from industrial sector argued that, apart from the
minimum salary set by the Government which is TShs.80,000/= per month, they are
not being paid other allowances. They further argued that they only experience
salary increase when the Government announces the Minimum wage, but no effort is
made by TUICO, and that there is neither transport allowance nor meal allowance
which is provided by the Company.
A respondent from Urafiki Textile stated that, 50 employees withdrew themselves
from the union membership because they alleged that they do not see any benefit
since they joined the union, what they are suffering is that TUICO membership
monthly contribution is deducted from the low salary they are getting and yet nothing
is done by TUICO.
47
It is clear from the findings that the question on whether or not TUICO participated
well in collective bargaining was not well responded by many employees because
very few knew about what collective bargaining was. This shows how TUICO has
failed to perform this role.
TUICOs Response
A respondent from TUICO headquarters stated that, out of thousands
firms/organisations established in Dar es Salaam, TUICO have signed only 18
voluntary agreements in year 2011/2012, this was caused by the attitudes of many
employers to treat TUICO as their enemy and not partner for their organization’s
progress. He argued that, in most cases when they visit firms/organisations, they
don’t meet the decision-makers; even if they make appointments only meet people
who are not decision-makers. According to him, out of 18 firms/organisations, the
10 firms/organisations that they signed voluntary agreements are semi-public
institutions. The response shows clearly that, TUICO are doing their best in
performing their roles, however employers are not cooperative enough to make their
job easier.
Respondents revealed that, TUICO fail in many bargaining because employers do
not provide them with the right information on the performance of the business in
terms of cost of production and profit, management always complain that they run
business in loss. To them by lacking this important information, it becomes difficult
for them to negotiate realistically, they just claim out of nowhere.
The findings show that TUICO are far behind, in terms of entering into voluntary
agreements with the employers, they seem to be weak in bargaining for a better
working condition through collective agreement. This has said to have been caused
by the habit of employers in many undertaking.
Employers’ Response
On the employers side when responding to the question on whether TUICO are
active in initiating and signing of voluntary agreement or not, the employers’ argued
48
that most of TUICO leaders lack negotiation skills. An employer from Urafiki
argued that, many of them negotiate on things which they have no merit and that is
why at the end of the negotiations they claim that management have overpowered
them. Sometimes they demand more than what employer can afford to pay.
A respondent from TCC argued that, TUICO have done a very big job in fighting for
better terms of employment, he admitted that, since signing of Collective agreement
things have been going on smoothly because everything is provided under the
agreement, what is remaining is for each party to perform their duties. From the
employers’ side it shows that TUICO will involve in bargaining if the employer
provides room for that, if they are not given an opportunity to enter into a
firms/organisations they cannot do that. It was also observed that TUICO seems to
lack negotiation skills as indicated in literature review - they thus need to empower
their workers on this area.
Employer’s responses shows clearly how defensive they are, what they do is to
blame TUICO leaders that they lack negotiation skills, while they know exactly that
it is them who makes the job of TUICO difficult by refusing to cooperate with them.
Government’s Response
It was also revealed by an Officer from the Labour Department that there are very
few voluntary agreements registered to the Labour Commissioner compared to the
number of firms/organisations in the region. For example in 2011/2012 the offices
reported that there were only 12 voluntary agreements (out of 152
firms/organisations in Dar es Salaam) which were submitted to the Labour
Commissioner for registration. This shows that TUICO needs to do a lot in terms of
education provision and sensitization of workers on joining the union since unity is
power and it is important and beneficial to be a member of the Trade union.
An Officer from The Ministry of Labour called for TUICO leaders to educate their
members on the importance of being a trade union member. Many workers are not
members of any union not because they do not want to be, but because they don’t
49
know the importance of joining the union. Because of lack of education among the
union members it becomes difficult to organize them and fight for collective
agreements with their employers.
The findings from all respondents in general clearly show that TUICO are not active
in collective bargaining. The researcher feels that this is caused by lack of
negotiation skills on the side of TUICO Leaders and negative employer’s perception
and attitude towards the role of TUICO. The two groups also lack trust to each
other.
4.3.3 How TUICO Participated in Minimum Wage
Employees View
The issue whether TUICO participated in setting minimum wage was responded
differently:
Almost 70% of the respondents do not know what the minimum wage in their
sector was;
30% knew what the minimum wage was.
Nevertheless, most respondents feel that although TUICO is said to have participated
in setting the minimum wage, there is still a lot to be done by them - thus they need
to do intensive research in the relevant sector before they come out with their
recommendation.
A respondent from Uchumi Supermarket was of the view that TUICO has failed to
convince members that it is a strong union able to defend the interest of its members,
thus she proposed the Government to set minimum wage, including all other
allowances and benefits. According to her, leaving a room for weak union like
TUICO to negotiate with defensive employers on setting minimum wage will cause
dispute in the working environment.
The findings revealed further that the involvement of TUICO in setting Minimum
wage was centred on the top leaders from the TUICO headquarters, many employees
in the field are not aware of what minimum wage is. The procedure involved in
50
setting minimum wage through TUICO representatives, thus many employees do not
know if TUICO engages effectively in minimum wage setting because their
minimum wage is too low compared with the cost of living.
Employers View
To employers involvement of TUICO and other Trade union in Minimum wage
setting was okay but to them TUICOs demand was not realistic. A respondent from
Uchumi Supermarket complained that TUICO is demanding too much compared to
what many companies can afford, he argued TUICO to be realistic when it comes to
setting minimum wage to enable both parties to be comfortable with the outcome.
To him the minimum wage should be based on the organization performance and
employees contribution towards that performance.
Government’s View
Data collected from the Ministry of Labour revealed that the Ministry involved all
Trade Unions and employers associations in setting Sectoral Minimum wage.
TUICO as a union which falls under Trade and Industry Sector was fully involved in
the whole process. A respondent added that, the Minimum wage boards comprise of
tripartite members (employer, government and trade union) which include
Government officials, representative from Trade Union and Representatives from
Employers association. So, TUICO was fully-involved in its relevant sector of Trade
and Industry.
The Officer reveals further that; the Minimum wage set by the Government is the
basis for TUICO to start negotiation for better payment, TUICO should not relax that
the Government has set the minimum wage, they should sit with their employers on
behalf of their members to bargain for the raise, however in the course of bargaining
they should consider the cost of production and workers performance.
TUICOs Views
The question on whether or not TUICO was involved in setting sectoral minimum
wage was asked to TUICO headquarters because they are the ones responsible for
51
this task. A respondent who participated in this task admitted to have been involved
in the whole process; however to him they are not the final people to set the
minimum wage. The task force simply recommends to the Minister who at the end
of the day is the one who makes decision.
Findings revealed that involvement of TUICO in setting minimum wage was of no
doubt, TUICO are supposed to appoint a qualified representatives who are able to
negotiate on behalf of the members, on top of that TUICO are expected to educate
their members on the fact that their performance could ease the raise of salary.
4.4 Factors that Hampers TUICO in Implementing their Objectives
The researcher wanted to know the limitation which TUICO faces in the course of
implementing their objectives.
Employees Views
Responses from employees revealed that unions are constrained by dishonest leaders
who have been used by the employers to get favours and allowances. This situation
hinders their power to negotiate for better pays or improvement of working
conditions, as a result caused the remaining employees to feel abandoned, hence lose
interest and eventually leaving the union to run on the basis of the will of the
employers in meeting demands of the employees. Moreover, few respondents argued
that some of the union leaders forget their major role of representing the interest of
their members rather concentrates on promoting their personality.
Employees responses reflect their disappointment by their leaders, many seems to
have lost hope of their leaders. However; basing on the findings and considering the
fact that many union leaders are paid low rates depending on the ability of their
union to pay; this makes it easy for employers to convince them with the little cash
which make them forget their responsibility of fighting for their member’s rights and
concentrate on their own needs.
52
Lack of education among union members is also another serious obstacle which
limits TUICO in implementing their objectives. Collected data from questionnaire
revealed that many trade unionists in TUICO are not very much educated. Most of
the strong trade unionist in TUICO field branch is those with very low education like
primary, secondary and very few attended college, many of those educated ones hold
higher positions thus have no time for union matters. This therefore hinders the
negotiation process. Looking at the findings it is clear that low level of education
may also contribute to difficulties in clearly reading and understanding the
requirements of the law.
Employees also mentioned lack of negotiation skills among union leaders to be one
of the obstacles that hinders effective implementation of TUICOs role. The study
revealed that, many union leaders at field branch lack negotiation skills in such a way
that, even small issues which could be solved within the firm they call union leaders
from the headquarters to come and negotiate on their behalf. This annoys many
employers as they feel interfered in their internal affairs. A negotiation skill is one of
the crucial requirements to union leaders. If majority of union members lack this
element then obvious they will not be able to convince management in any
negotiation process.
Data collected from questionnaires also revealed that many union leaders are very
weak. If at any one time they are threatened by the employer, they tend to move a
step back because they also protect their employment. In most cases employees
introduce some demands while observing the response of their employers, if the
response is negative then they abandon their demand that is why many employee’s
demands remain in the desk of employers without any serious follow up. Basing on
the findings, it is observed that there is no security of employment in many private
institutions.
53
TUICOs Views
The questionnaires and interviews responses from TUICO leaders revealed that
TUICO is faced with number of limitations which includes employer’s negative
attitudes against them. A respondent from TUICO headquarters argued that, many
employers do not allow them to enter or conduct any union activities at the work
places because they feel that they are the source of misunderstandings. He stated
that, there are number of cases before CMA regarding dismissal of their members
just because they were union members.
Shortage of funds was also said to have hindered the implementation of the TUICO
leaders duties, respondents indicated that limitation of funds is the major problem
facing trade unions. A respondent from TUICO head quarters admitted that even
though members contribute monthly dues to the unions, money so collected does not
suffice to meet all expenses of the union. This has sometimes caused the unions to
depend on the goodwill of the employers to support them in order to conduct some
activities or to attend various trainings and conduct training to its members. This
findings shows how TUICO will never be strong especially if sometimes the
employer facilitates their activities it will be very difficult at any other future time to
ask the same employer to improve their working conditions.
Respondents also revealed that, the new changes in the labour market and the
emergence of new forms of personnel management also affect the union to a large
extent. Many employers presently prefer contract workers of which they can opt to
renew their contract or not upon expiry, another respondent stated that some
employers prefer contract and commission agent in the performance of their
organization, despite the requirement of the law on the need to employ unskilled
workers with permanent contract, to date most of them opt for contract workers.
These forms of contract have been witnessed in almost all the headquarters that the
researcher visited, almost 90% of workers are working in contract basis. In Uchumi
Supermarket for example out of 235 employees, 150 are sub-contracted workers who
54
are employed by another independent firm which attached them to Uchumi
Supermarket but they receive their salary from that firm and not Uchumi
Supermarket. To organize such group is very difficult because they have different
terms of employment contract and salary levels. A respondent from Uchumi
Supermarket also stated that, if an employee seems to pioneer in Trade Union issues
then the employer does not renew their contract once expired or find reason to
terminate their contracts.
Data from the field verifies that many employers prefer part-time or contract
workers, a large number of workers in the manufacturing company are part-time or
daily workers, they are being paid basing on the job they have performed, thus it
becomes very difficult to organize these kind of employees as each one reports to his
work station on his own time and leaves according to one’s schedule, and many are
working with more than one institution, so to them unionization is like wastage of
time. Thus TUICO leaders find themselves with few members compared to the total
number of employees in a certain institution. Respondent from Uchumi
Supermarket stated that half of employees are sub-contracted, also in Urafiki out of
760 employees, 510 employees are contract workers and only 250 employees are
working under permanent contract.
Employer’s Views
Response from employers side revealed that TUICO are faced with shortage of
Funds, despite the fact that the union collects monthly dues from their members, still
the money so collected seems to be inadequate to meet their needs, they have
therefore to find other sources of fund to acquire more money from other sources like
donors or even invest on the little they get. The union has been there for a long time
but no investment to sustain their cash.
It has also been revealed that the union is also faced with lack of committed and
qualified unionist. Many unionist after satisfying their needs, they also lack
negotiation skills in such a way that they are easily induced by employers. All these
are problems backfired by shortage of funds, if the unionist could be well-trained in
55
their field of expertise and being paid satisfactory amounts of money, they wouldn’t
have been easily manipulated by the employers.
From the findings, it is clearly that shortage of funds is the source of all the
problems, if TUICO was financially stable, they could conduct training to their
members, also they could pay their union-leaders satisfactory amounts of money
which could have helped them to defeat tempted employers.
Governments views
A response from an officer from the government stated that TUICO are faced with
the problem of lack of qualified labour practitioners with negotiation skills and
arguments, they are also facing the shortage of funds, something which reduced their
confidence especially in negotiation.
TUICO leaders are also not well-informed on the financial position of their
employers, so when they negotiate, the negotiation is done blindly without knowing
the actual financial status of their employers. In this case employers are supposed to
disclose their financial status during negotiation so as to make negotiation process
easy. A senior officer from Commission for Mediation and Arbitration also stated
that, negotiation table requires good faith, it should result to win win situation.
However, most of employers are not honesty to declare their financial status during
negotiations, this hinders the whole process and that is why at the end of the day one
side lose and the other win, in some other time the whole negotiation process fails.
4.5 Summary and Interpretation of Findings
4.5.1 Introduction
This chapter highlights summary of the general findings of the study and
interpretation of the findings from the principle objectives of the study which
highlight the role that TUICO plays in implementation of the Labour laws in
Tanzania.
4.5.2 Summary of Findings
The role of trade unions in labour laws implementation is a significant activity which
any organization will need to effect at workplaces as far as corporate governance and
56
good leadership are concerned. Since the introduction of trade unions, many
employees have been able to negotiate for their working conditions instead of
depending on salaries dictated by employers. Generally, this study has looked at
the role of TUICO in the course of Implementing the law relating to labour
matters. Specifically the study assesses how TUICO is active in entering into
collective agreements, it assesses the role played by TUICO in setting minimum
wages, and the limitations they face when implementing their objectives.
Literature review from various studies as discussed in chapter two revealed that
Trade unions have not yet reached an average rate of performance, they are still
performing unsatisfactorily, there is still a high rate of ignorance of the laws among
employees, termination cases have been increasing day by day, employers are
restricting them from opening branch unions at their organizations, also the union
themselves are not well-equipped with negotiation techniques that is why they fail in
most negotiations they attend to. The literature review also reveals that many trade
unionist are not honest, they put their personal interests forward then member
interest comes after, embezzlement of funds have also been the talk of the day.
The study noted in general that TUICO’s performance has not satisfied its members
and stake-holders at large. Many interviewed employees seem to be discouraged on
how TUICO represent them in various labour matters they face, despite the fact that
they admit that the union has tried to implement some of their responsibilities like
harmonizing industrial relations still the number of employees are not happy with
their working conditions, most of them are working just because they have nowhere
to go and they are in need.
There are numbers of reasons which affect the performance of TUICO in
implementing their roles, some of those reasons includes; sustainability of funds
affect their performance, embezzlement of union’s funds by dishonest union leaders,
limited bargaining autonomy and bargaining techniques, negative attitude of
employers, struggle for identity among union leaders, lack of strong leaders.
57
It was also observed by the response from the government that TUICO needs to work
hard as it seems they do not fit well in their positions, termination cases before the
Commission is increasing day by day, also unfair treatment at work places is always
reported, it was also noted from the Inspectorate department that some employees are
still paid below the statutory minimum wage and they don’t get their basic rights like
leave, overtime payment and other basic rights. The number of collective
agreements entered in Dar es Salaam is very low compared to the number of
firms/organizations in the area; the Union has signed 18 collective agreements and
registered only 12 before the Labour Commissioner.
The majority of employers do not see the need of having union branches in their
firms/organizations. To them the presence of TUICO at work places is confrontation
and causing chaos. They think they will do just fine without interference of TUICO.
However, some supported the functions of TUICO and indicated that the presence of
trade union is a source of good governance as there will be no injustice at work
places. They also believed that its introduction will also reduce employers fear to
have confrontation with employees. However, to them they think TUICO have not
done enough, they commend to TUICO to educate their members on the
requirements of the law because most of them are not well-informed.
It was however observed from TUICO’s side that they have tried their best to
implement the law, however, they are faced with a number of obstacles including
unwelcomed employers who have negative perception on them; according to them
many employers do not provide room for them to exercise their duties.
It has also been noted from TUICO that limitation of funds is also another obstacle
that hinders their performance. To them despite the fact that members contribute
monthly to the unions, the money has not sufficed to meet all expenses of the unions.
This has caused some unions to depend on donations and even the goodwill of the
employers to support them in order to conduct some activities. Nevertheless, the
contacted respondents said that some committed unionists have been used by the
employers, where they get promoted to higher posts. This has also limited the trade
58
unions to have power to negotiate for high pays or improvement of working
conditions as many employees lack collective voice.
TUICO stated that they employ various mechanisms to ensure that they manage their
demands, these include: collective bargaining agreement which helps them to
demand or discuss important issues relating to their rights provided both parties
agree on the matters arise. Furthermore, it was learnt that TUICO use strikes is as an
alternative way where other democratic ways fail to convince the employers to meet
demands of employees. This has been employed as a last resort when all other
options have failed and yet employers do not seem to accept employees’ demands.
59
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
The conclusion part presents observations from the findings; conclusion on the issues
emerged based on research questions, theoretical implication and finally
recommendation. On the other hand recommendations try to point out possible
solutions to the shortfalls observed.
The study was conducted with the intention of assessing the role of trade unions in
implementing labour laws. It was governed by three research objectives which are;
how TUICO is active in Collective Bargaining, how did TUICO participated in the
setting up of the sectoral Minimum wage and finally what were the factors that
hinders TUICO in the performance of their duties. The study was conducted in Dar
es salaam, employers and employees from three firms (Uchumi supermarket,
Tanzania Cigarette Company and Urafiki Textile) were chosen to be a sample
population.
Different writers were consulted in the course of conducting this research paper
where it was found that; Trade unions have a long way to go in the course of
performing their duties and satisfying their members.
Generally, as far as findings of the research are concerned, it can be generalized and
concluded that the role of trade unions in implementing labour laws is well
recognized but limited by lack of adequate funding, lack of committed unionists, and
negative perception of employers are the factors that hinder the works of the trade
unions in achieving their obligations.
However, mechanism used by the trade unions in demanding rights is collective
bargaining and strike. Representatives of the unions use negotiating power to reach
mutual agreement on issues affecting their well-being. In addition, failure of
60
meeting such needs cause the unions to seek their rights through strike and this has
worked in some cases depending on the risks of the strike to the society.
Although employers are of different opinions on the existence of trade unions at
work-places, it is obvious that the presence of the trade unions at work-place
liberalizes the employees and eliminates discrimination to some employees.
Furthermore, working conditions are improved by the management through
collective bargaining.
In dealing with the issue of better pay, TUICO should work hand in hand with
educating their members that, better payment based on the organization performance,
and the organization performance highly depend on workers commitment and
performance. Meaning the two issues work parallel, there is no better payment if
performance is low.
Among the problems that are facing TUICO include the problem of shortage of fund.
This could be tolerated; however TUICO should find other sources of fund so as to
sustain their union. TUICO management on the other hand should deal seriously with
the issue of dishonest leaders. If this problem is not taken seriously, it might ruin the
union.
5.2 Recommendations
The following recommendations were drawn from the findings of the study; these
recommendations are addressed to the stake-holders who are employers, the
government and employees.
Government
It is not enough to put in place mechanism and penalty for violating the right to
organize. The Government should move a step further to enforce such requirements
of the law. Employers who hinder the performance of trade union at their work
places should be summoned by relevant authority and his/her penalty should be
imposed upon them to teach a lesson to other employers.
61
There has to be a continuous monitoring through labour inspectors and trade unions
to enhance compliance of the law in the working places.
The Government should encourage collective bargaining between workers and
management to improve the wage structure above the minimum wage to enhance the
level of productivity as higher productivity improves the social and economic
environment.
Strengthen labour inspections by setting up regular workplace inspections to ensure
labour standards are enforced with special care. As indicated in the study there is
violation of labour standards in work places which means there is irregular labour
inspection.
The Government should ensure that it provides education concerning labour laws not
only to employees but also to employers; however, on the other hand trade unions
should make their own efforts to understand the labour laws.
More education should be provided on the role of trade unions at work places and
labour laws must be written in the common language by majority in order to
understand them.
Trade unions must not be used by politicians as their platforms and being interfered
with politics to condemn rights of the employees.
Trade unions
Unions must be ready to educate and translate the labour laws to the members in
order to raise their awareness to the laws.
It should be understood that unionization is for the benefit of the members, leaders of
the trade unions should not be used by employers to weaken the unions at
workplaces.
Other means of soliciting funds should be found instead of depending on monthly
contributions of members which can not suffice to meet all expenses. TUICO can
62
buy some shares in companies in order to generate income for the unions or invest on
the little they get so as to sustain their income.
Solidarity among the members will empower the trade unions to have more voice
and be heard by the management on issues that affect both parties, especially the
employees at times of collective bargaining.
Employers
Should consider TUICO and other trade unions as partners for the development of
their companies and not treat them like slaves.
Rights of employees should not depend on the willingness of the employers to meet
them provided employees are obliged to demand it.
Provide good working environment to their employees, if workers are comfortable in
their working environment the production also increases.
Employers should comply with the labour laws and observe labour standards, adhere
to fundamental rights and allow their employees to form and join the trade union of
their choice, this will smooth the operation, and it will also be easy to manage them
as a group rather than dealing with single employees’ issues.
QUESTIONNAIRE
63
Questionnaires on Involvement of TUICO in Collective bargaining
The researcher is a student taking Masters of Public Administration at Mzumbe
University, Dar es Salaam Business School. She is doing a research on The Role of
Trade Unions in the Implementations of the Labour Laws: A Case Study of
TUICO. You are kindly requested to fill in the questionnaires and all information
provided will remain confidential.
Personal Information
1. Are you a member of any trade union?
a) Yes [ ] b) No [ ]
2. Which trade union? …………………………………….
3. Gender a) Male [ ] b) Female [ ]
4. What is your education level?
a) Primary [ ] b) Secondary [ ] c) College [ ]
Detailed Research Questions
1. Do you have employment contract? What is the nature of your contract
(Explain) ………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
2. Did you receive salary increment since you were employed? If the answer is
yes how much? If the answer is no explain why?
……………………………………………………….…………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………
3. Apart from your salary, what other benefits do you get from your employer?
64
Explain ……...…………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
4. Do you know what collective agreement is? Explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Do you have such agreements in your undertaking?
…………………………………...............................................................................…
…………………………………………………………………………………...……
………………………………………………………………………………...
6. Does you trade union representative negotiate with you employers for better
Working conditions? Explain ………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What agreement has the trade union signed with the employer in relation to
your working conditions? ……………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Are the agreements implemented effectively? What are the obstacles when
implementing these agreements? ……………………………………………...
…………………………………………...……………………………………………
….………………………………………..………………………………………
9. Does the collective agreement covers all workers in your undertaking?
Explain …………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………...…
………………………………………………………………………………….
65
10. a) Does the minimum wage you get today part of the collective bargaining
signed by your union leaders, or it was the one announced by the government?
Explain …………………………………………………………….………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………….…..
b).What is the rate of minimum wage in your undertaking?
…………………………............................................................................................
………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Do Trade union leaders meet with you often? ……………..……… How
often?...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
12. Have you ever attended any training concerning labour law? Explain when
and where …………..……………………………………………………................
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
13. Did your trade union leaders conduct any training concerning labour law and
importance of collective bargaining to members?
…………………………………….……………………………………………………
…………………………………….……………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………….
14. How many training did they conduct? ………………………………………..
……………………………………………………...………………………………
15. How do you assess the performance of trade union in collective agreements?
………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
66
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Babeiya E. (2011) Trade Union and Democratization in Tanzania; End of an Era?
Journal of
Bauer G, Defining the role of Trade Union in Namibia, SAR, Vol 8No. 5, 1 May
1993 pg. 8
Compa, Lance A. (2004) .Trade Unions, NGOs, and Corporate Codes of Conduct.
Philadelphia: Cornel University.
D'Art,Daril and Turne,Thomas (2011) Irish trade unions under social partnership: a
Faustian bargain? Industrial Relations Journal Vol. 42, Issue 2, March 2011.
Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-
2338.2011.00617.x/full
DFID (2009). The Role of Trade Unions: What do they do? London: Department for
International Development. Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004.
Eryaud, F. and Saget, C (2005) The fundamentals of minimum wage fixing. Geneva:
ILO
Ewing F. 2005The Functions of Trade Unions, Indian Law
Fossum, John (2002). Labour Relations: Development, Structure and Process.
Boston: McGraw Hill
Frias, Judith A (2006)the Role of Labor Unions in Wages: The Case of Mexico.
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Gardawski,J (2002) Declining trade union density examined, ‘Foundation Institute of
Public Affairs’,
Warsaw, Published in ‘Eiro-Portal’
Gundula F. (2011) Global Labour Journal Vol 2 May 2011
ILO Decent Work Country Report, (2010) Tanzania Mainland
Jim Riley (2012) Managing people, Trade Union, IGCSE Business studies, Sept,
2012
Julian K. (2010) Ethical Trading Initiative, respect for workers worldwide,
Katz, Harry and Kochan, Thomas (2004) An Introduction to Collective Bargaining
and industrial Relations. Boston: McGraw Hill
Kothari C.R (2007) Research Methodology. Dar esSalaam: I Printers
Mark, Saunders, et al (2005).Research Methods for Business Students. 3rd Ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill
Masanja A, and Raha H, Employment Policies and Poverty Reduction Strategies
(2004) ILO Training Centre, Turin, Italy.
Politics and Law, Dar es salaam University College of Education
Samet, A. J. (2000) ‘Wages, Benefits, Poverty Line, and Meeting Workers Needs in
theApparel and Footwear Industries of Selected Countries’, Washington DC: US
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Sarma, A.M (2009). Industrial Relations: Conceptual and Legal Frameworks.
Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.
68
Schillinger, Hubert Rene (2005) Trade Unions in Africa: Weak but feared:
Occasional Papers. Bonn: International Development Cooperation.
Shafie, Mohamed (2011). Creating Smart Partnerships. Singapore: UNI Malaysia
Liaison Council
Shivji, J.G (1985) State and the Working people in Tanzania
Sihna, P, Sihna, I and Shekhar, S (2006) Industrial Relations, Trade Unions and
Labour Legislation. New Delhi:Pearson
Srivastava, S.C. (2007). Industrial Relations and Labour Laws. 5th Ed. New Delhi:
VIKAS Publishing House Pvt Ltd.
Students Room (2010).Trade unions, employee relations, employee participation,
employment law. Wales: Acumen Professional Intelligence Ltd.
The Columbia Encyclopedia (2004).Collective Bargaining.6th Ed. Columbia
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The Role of Trade Unions in National Development (A collection of Seminar Papers
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Sarawak, Malaysia
Wolfe, Michael (2010). What Are the Benefits of Being in a Trade Union? New
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Zammit, Edward (2002) the perceptions of trade unions by their members: A survey
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=879771 on 24/5/2011
http://www.slideshare.net/ShashankV7/trade-union-and-collective-bargaining
69
Questionnaires in the Role of TUICO in setting Minimum wage
Personal Information
1. In what industry does your organization fall?
a) Manufacturing [ ] b) trade [ ] c) Banking [ ] d) other [ ]
2. How many employees are there? ……………………………………………
3. What do you know about minimum wage? …………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………
4. When was the last review of the minimum wage in the country? …………….
5. What is the minimum wage in your undertaking? …………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Did the wage boards visit your undertaking on the process of searching
information for setting minimum wage? Explain ……………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
7. Was the trade union in your undertaking consulted by the minimum wage
boards? ………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………….…
………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. When was your salary reviewed? Did the minimum wage increase? …………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
9. Is there any binding agreement between TUICO and Management on
Minimum wage in your undertaking? ………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
70
10. How do you assess TUICOs performance towards minimum wage setting?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……….…………………………………………………………………………..
11. What are your views on the current minimum wage? Should it be reviewed or
it is satisfactory? .......………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
12. Dou you think the procedure for setting minimum wage is proper? What
should be done? …………………………………………………………….………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
13. Do you think TUICO’s comments were taken on board when setting the
minimum wage? Explain ………………………..………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…..…………………………………………/…………………………………...
14. What challenge did TUICO face during setting up of minimum wage?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
15. What is your opinion on the procedure for setting minimum wage? Do you
think it was properly conducted or the Government should leave it to employer and
trade union to negotiate? …………….………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………
71
Questionnaires on Factors that Limits TUICO in implementing their duties
The researcher is a student taking Masters of Public Administration at Mzumbe
University, Dar es Salaam Business School. She is doing a research on The Role of
Trade Unions in the Implementations of the Labour Laws: A Case Study of
TUICO. You are kindly requested to fill in the questionnaires and all information
provided will remain confidential.
Personal Information
1. What is your age group?
a) 20- 30 [ ] b) 31- 40 years [ ] c) 41 – 50 years [ ] d) above 50 years [ ]
2. What is your education level?
a) Primary [ ] b) Secondary [ ] c) College [ ]
3. Which position are you holding in trade union?
b) Branch chairman [ ] b) secretary[ ] c) representative [ ]
4. What are the main challenges that you as trade unions face? …………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
5. How do you manage those challenges? …………………………………..…..
…………………………...............................................................................................
…………………………………………………………………………………………
6. It seems that, lack of education among your members is one of the biggest
challenges that hinders your performance, what efforts have you employed to
overcome it so far? …………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What about the issue of fund management? How do you manage it?
…………………… ……………………………………………….…………………..
72
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
8. What other sources of fund you have apart from members’ contribution?
...……………………………………………………………………………….……
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
9. How do you manage with influential employers?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
10. Do you normally get access to talk to your members at the undertakings?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
11. How many collective agreements did you sign with the dare s salaam
undertaking? ……………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
12. What is the reason behind such numbers? ……………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
13. Do you also face the problem of lack of education (on the labour laws’
requirement) among employers? ………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………….…..
………………………………………..…………………………...…...…………...
73
14. How do you overcome such challenge? ……………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..
15. What other challenges are you facing when performing your duties? Explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
16. How do you assess your performance for the last three years? What is the
trend of membership in that period? …………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………
QUESTIONS FOR FOCUSED GROUP DISCUSSION
1. Discuss the involvement of TUICO in setting minimum wage
2. Assess the role of TUIC in Collective agreements
3. Enunciate how lack of education among workers hinders TUICO in
implementing their role.
4. Explain the employer’s perception on TUICO and other trade unions
5. What should be done to strengthen TUICO
QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW
1. Is there trade union in your undertaking? Mention it
2. Do you know the role of trade union? explain
3. Do you have voluntary agreements in your undertaking? elaborate
4. Have you heard about minimum wage? What is the minimum wage in your
undertaking?
5. In your opinion, what are the factors that hinder trade unions from performing
their role effectively?
Thank you for your cooperation…!
