Workers strike costs TAZARA $1m

BOARDING: Last week, TAZARA announced the resumption of cross-border operations between Zambia and Tanzania.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - The Management of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has revealed that the two weeks which Tanzania employees of the authority were on strike has caused company loss of at least $1.16 million in revenue.

The Head of Public Relations, Conrad Simuchile, told the East African Business Week that the amount is just in terms of revenue, but the Authority has also lost customers’ confidence.

In the last two week, employees of TAZARA in the Tanzanian Region (all stations between Dar es Salaam and Tunduma) withdrew their labour on 12 May 2014, demanding unpaid salaries for February and for March and April 2014.

As a consequence, TAZARA suspended both freight and passenger operations between Dar es Salaam and Tunduma.

“Apart from losing the customers’ confidence and inconveniencing members of the public, many of whom are vulnerable groups in rural communities, the Authority estimates that at least $1.16 million has been foregone in revenues in the last two weeks when employees in Tanzania were on strike, even with the current constricted low levels of production,” Simuchile said.

Following a series of problems and especially financial ones, the Authority management recently said it was planning to seek for investors who will rescue it from collapsing following its inability to perform due to lack of capital.

Simuchile told East African Business Week that the company was underperforming and operating in loss that was the major reason they want to privatize it.

He said already five companies have shown interest in investing in the TAZARA, but all was waiting blessing from the management board regarding privatization processes.

Simuchile explained the company is operating at a higher level of expenses that what it earns.

“We are able to generate very little, an average of $2.5 million monthly while the salaries demand for the workers reaches $1.4million. Still more was needed for fuel to run the locomotive, for repairs of dilapidated infrastructures, that include rails, and bridges. The monthly expenditure goes beyond $3million,” ” Simuchile said

Last week, TAZARA announced the resumption of cross-border operations between Zambia and Tanzania following the declaration by the Labour Division of the High Court of Tanzania that the strike by Tanzanian employees of TAZARA as illegal.

The court issued an order on Monday 26 May 2014 directing the striking employees to immediately resume work and the employees complied with the order by resuming work on Tuesday 27 May 2014.

According to the Head of PR, freight and passenger operations which were suspended have already commenced.

“Even though normal operations had continued between Nakonde and New Kapiri-Mposhi on the Zambian side, with passenger trains running between New Kapiri-Mposhi and Nakonde at the border, the cycle was incomplete and TAZARA suffered serious losses due to the illegal strike action,” he said.

TAZARA has for the last few years been experiencing various problems including financial resources to run the company. It has also being facing financial problems in repairing some of the devastated infrastructures.

Last year TAZARA workers downed tools in October to demand the payment of their August and September salaries.

However they resumed their work after the Tanzanian workers were paid their September salaries.

The 1,860-km rail line was built with a $500 million interest-free Chinese loan between 1970 and 1975.

By Patrick Kisembo, Monday, June 09th, 2014


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