Generate/ERILOGO1.gif About ERI Disclaimer

Tanzania - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Dar es Salaam

 

Special note: Tanzania’s legislative offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital. Tanzania’s National Assembly now meets in Dodoma on regular basis.

 

CLIMATE

Tanzania’s climate varies from tropical along the coast to temperate in the highlands.

 

LANGUAGES

Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), and many local languages.

 

Special note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania. Although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa. The first language of most people is one of the local languages.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Tanzania’s legal system is based on English common law with judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation. Tanzania has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Tanzanian Shilling (1 USD = 1,028.20 TZS as of May 15, 2002).

 

TANZANIA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

TANZANIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Dar Es Salaam

140 Msese Road

Kinondoni District

Dar es Salaam Tanzania, East Africa

P.O. Box 9123

Dar es Salaam Tanzania, East Africa

Telephone: [255] (22) 2666-010

Fax: [255] (22) 2666-701

http://usembassy.state.gov/tanzania/

 

Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania at Washington D.C.

2139 R Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 939-6125

Fax: (202) 797-7408

Email: balozi@tanzaniaembassy-us.org

http//www.tanzaniaembassy-us.org

 

TANZANIA - HOLIDAYS

 

TANZANIA – LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 100% of pay (paid by employer).

 

TANZANIA - MINIMUM AGE

The Government prohibits children under the age of 14 from working in the formal wage sector in both urban and rural areas. The minimum age for work of a contractual nature in approved occupations is set at 15 years. Children between the ages of 12 and 15 may be employed on a daily wage and on a day-to-day basis, but they must have parental permission and return to the residence of their guardian at night.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Tanzania – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

TANZANIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The legal minimum wage is 30,000 shillings per month (approximately $38).

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Tanzania – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

TANZANIA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

TANZANIA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

Both the Constitution and the Trade Union Ordinance provide for freedom of association for workers, and the Government respected this right in practice. Worker rights are handled separately by the Union and Zanzibar Governments. The Union Government enforces labor laws for the mainland and the Zanzibar Government enforces legislation specific to Zanzibar and Pemba islands. The labor law that applies to the mainland applies to both public and private sector workers, but restricts the right of association for those workers broadly defined as "essential." The labor law in Zanzibar applies only to private sector workers.

 

Overall, only approximately 5 to 7 percent of the country's 2 million wage earners are organized. Registered trade unions nominally represent 50 percent of workers in industry and government. According to the ILO, the number of workers who are unionized declined because workers no longer believed that unions could be agents for change. Union membership declined during the year primarily due to the growth in the informal sector and the general feeling that unions remain ineffective. Seeking to bolster unions' effectiveness, the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania was established in 2000. All workers, including those classified broadly as essential service workers, are permitted to join unions, but essential workers are not permitted to strike.

 

In 2000 the Trade Union Act abolished the umbrella organization, the Tanzania Federation of Trade Unions (TFTU), and required its 11 independent unions to register separately with the Registrar of Trade Unions. The act permitted workers to form unions voluntarily without requiring membership in an umbrella organization. All of the 11 unions had registered by the end of 2000. There were a total of 14 unions operating in the country by year's end, including the teacher's union, which was the largest and most active union, as well as health workers' unions, and other job-specific groups.

 

The Registrar of Trade Unions has the power to restrict freedom of association by allowing the Registrar to interfere with union activities. The law permits the imposition of large fines, imprisonment, or both for failing to register a trade union. The Registrar also is permitted to deregister the smaller of two trade unions when more than one exists in an industry and to order the smaller union to remove members. The Registrar can suspend a trade union for contravening the law or the union's own rules, suspend a union for 6 months on grounds of public order or security, and invalidate the union's international trade union affiliation if certain internal union procedures are not followed. The Registrar did not use these powers during the year.

 

There are no laws prohibiting retribution against legal strikers; however, workers have the legal right to strike only after complicated and protracted mediation and conciliation procedures leading ultimately to the Industrial Court, which receives direction from the Ministry of Labor and Youth Development. If a union is not satisfied with the decision of the Industrial Court, it then may conduct a legal strike. The mediation and conciliation procedures can prolong a dispute by months without resolving it. In 2000 the ILO submitted to the Union Government a list of recommended changes to the law to bring into conformity with ILO standards, but the Government had not taken action by year's end. Frustrated workers have staged impromptu, illegal wildcat strikes and walkouts pending a resolution of their cases in the Industrial Court. The last major strike took place in 1998. The regional ILO office continued to call upon the Government to ratify the other core conventions. In 2000 the Government launched a Task Force on Labor Policy and Labor Law Reform, which is scheduled to complete its research in early 2002 and present its findings to Parliament.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Collective bargaining is protected by law but does not apply to the public sector. The Government sets wages for employees of the Government and state-owned organizations administratively, although privatization and reductions in public sector employment have reduced such employees to approximately 5 percent of the work force.

 

With the abolition of the TFTU (see Section 6.a.), unions directly negotiate with the Association of Tanzanian Employers on behalf of private sector members. Collective agreements must be submitted to the Industrial Court for approval and may be refused registration if they do not conform with the Government's economic policy. The ILO has observed that these provisions are not in conformity with ILO Convention 98 on Collective Bargaining and the Right to Organize. None of the newly registered unions concluded new collective bargaining agreements by the end of the year.

 

The Security of Employment Act prohibits discriminatory activities by an employer against union members. Employers found guilty of antiunion activities are required under the law to reinstate workers. The Warioba Commission, in its White Paper Report, found that bribes often determine whether a worker dismissed from his job actually is reinstated. The labor law in Zanzibar does not protect trade union members from antiunion discrimination.

 

There are no export processing zones (EPZ's) on the mainland, but there are three in Zanzibar. Working conditions are comparable to those in other areas. Labor law protections apply to EPZ workers.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that it occurred, particularly by children. In some rural areas, villagers still are obligated to work in the village community gardens or on small construction projects such as repairing roads.

 

The Constitution does not prohibit specifically forced or bonded child labor, and there continued to be reports that it occurred. The ILO and UNICEF reported that children who left home to work as domestic laborers in other towns or villages often were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. There also were reports that children were trafficked to work in mines, commercial agriculture, as domestic laborers, and in other businesses. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of children forced into prostitution by parents or guardians in need of extra income (see Sections 5 and 6.f.).

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The Government prohibits children under the age of 14 from working in the formal wage sector in both urban and rural areas, and the Government enforces this prohibition; however, the provision does not apply to children working on family farms or herding domestic livestock. Child labor continued to be a problem. The ILO estimated that 3.4 million out of 12.1 million children in the country who are under the age of 18 work on a regular basis, and that 1 out of every 3 children in rural areas is economically active as compared with 1 in 10 in urban areas. The minimum age for work of a contractual nature in approved occupations is set at 15 years. Children between the ages of 12 and 15 may be employed on a daily wage and on a day-to-day basis, but they must have parental permission and return to the residence of their guardian at night.

 

The law prohibits young persons from employment in any occupation that is injurious to health and that is dangerous or otherwise unsuitable. Young persons between the ages of 12 and 15 may be employed in industrial work but only between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., with some exceptions. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and Youth Development is responsible for enforcement; however, the number of inspectors is inadequate to monitor conditions. The effectiveness of government enforcement reportedly has declined further with increased privatization.

 

Approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children engage in seasonal employment on sisal, tea, tobacco, and coffee plantations. Children working on plantations generally receive lower wages than their adult counterparts, although they may be in comparable jobs. Work on sisal and tobacco plantations is particularly hazardous and detrimental to children. Between 1,500 and 3,000 children work in unregulated gemstone mines. Girls often are employed as domestic servants, mostly in urban households and sometimes under abusive and exploitative conditions. In the informal sector, children assist their parents in unregulated piecework manufacturing. Children are engaged in labor in the areas of mining, domestic service, fishing, commercial agriculture, and prostitution (see Section 5).

 

Several government ministries, including the Ministry of Labor and Youth Development, the Bureau of Statistics, and the Department of Information Services, have special child labor units. The Government is working with NGO's to establish a specific prohibition against child labor. In 1999 the Government drafted a National Child Labor Elimination policy designed to bring national law into compliance with international conventions, and in December 1999, the Government invited labor organizations and NGO's to comment on the draft law. The Government has worked with the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor to develop a national plan of action to address the issue, and in 2000 implemented a program for the elimination of child labor.

 

The Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor during the year.

 

The Constitution does not specifically prohibit forced or bonded child labor, and there continued to be reports that it occurred. The ILO and UNICEF reported that children who left home to work as domestic laborers in other towns or villages often were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. There also were reports that children were trafficked to work in mines, commercial agriculture, as domestic laborers, and in other businesses. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of children forced into prostitution by parents or guardians in need of extra income (see Sections 5 and 6.f.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

There is a legal minimum wage for employment in the formal sector. The legal minimum wage is approximately $38 (30,000 shillings) per month. Even when supplemented with various benefits such as housing, transport allowances, and food subsidies, the minimum rate is not always sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, and workers must depend on their extended family or on a second or third job. Despite the minimum wage, many workers, especially in the small but growing informal sector, are paid less.

 

There is no standard legal work week; however, a 5-day, 40-hour work week is in effect for government workers. Most private employers retain a 6-day, 44- to 48-hour work week. In general women may not be employed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Several laws regulate safety in the workplace. An Occupational Health and Safety Factory Inspection System, set up with the assistance of the ILO, is managed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and Youth Development; however, its effectiveness is limited. Labor standards are not enforced in the informal sector.

 

The Employment Services Promotion Act provides for the creation of a facility to promote employment by creating self-employment opportunities, allows the Government to collect reliable data and information on vacancies for the unemployed, and facilitates employment with other agencies and private sector. The facility, the Labor Exchange Center, opened in August to match the skills, experience, education, and other qualifications of job seekers in Dar es Salaam with job qualification requirements of employers.

 

Union officials have claimed that enforcement of labor standards is effective in the formal sector, but no verification studies have been performed. Workers may sue an employer through their union if their working conditions do not comply with the Ministry of Labor's health and environmental standards. Workers who have lodged and won such complaints have not faced retribution; however, workers do not have the right to remove themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardizing their employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law does not prohibit trafficking, and there continued to be reports that children were trafficked away from their families to work in mines, commercial agriculture, as domestic laborers, and in other business entities. The ILO and UNICEF reported that children who left home to work as domestic laborers in other towns or villages often were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of children forced into prostitution by parents or guardians in need of extra income.

 

In November Burundian rebels abducted 107 children from refugee camps in the country. However, some reports indicated that the children's parents may have allowed the children to be taken with the belief that they would work on plantations (see Section 2.d.).

 

TANZANIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

TANZANIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

There is no standard legal workweek; however, a 5-day, 40-hour workweek is in effect for government workers. Most private employers retain a 6-day, 44- to 48-hour workweek. In general women may not be employed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Tanzania – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)