Trade unions differ on Tanzania’s position regarding foreign workers

According to EATUC chairperson Francis Atoll, the government was right to conduct a thorough vetting of foreigners wishing to work in Tanzania.

“Tanzania should not be forced to let any kind of foreigner into the country to take up jobs that could well be done by locals,” said Atoll on the sidelines of a function where a memorandum of understanding was signed between trade unions in East Africa and the Confederation of Danish Industries.

“Some foreigners are so powerful that they can even buy justice, which is not good for a country like Tanzania,” he added.

However, Atwoli’s sentiments were disputed by East African Employers Association (EAEO) chairperson Rosemary Ssenabulya who faulted Tanzania for “locking out” other East Africans from the job market.

According to Ms Ssenabulya, such a move was going against the East African Community (EAC) regional market protocol which advocates for free movement of labor across the borders of member states.

She urged Tanzania to instead emulate Rwanda’s apparent commitment to the protocol.

“The onus is on us employers… let’s try to accommodate each other,” said Ssenabulya, who is also executive director of the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE).

Authorities in the country have recently hiked residential and working permit fees for expatriates and other foreigners seeking local employment in a move apparently designed to protect local interests.

The fees hike has been criticized by local employers, whose apex body –the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE) – said it would only increase the cost of doing business in the country.

According to ATE, there are some ‘key roles’ that can be best filled by foreign experts rather than locals.

The East African Business Council (EABC) has also pleaded with President John Magufuli for a scaling down of the new work and residential permits fees for EAC citizens in the country, saying this was important for the sake of business prosperity across the region.

Meanwhile, a representative of LO/FTF - the Danish council for international development cooperation - urged the EAC partner states to collaborate on the issue.

“We know how difficult it is, but we are sure that there are many benefits to reap from the free movement of labor,” said Philip Nordentoft after singing the MoU on behalf of the Confederation of Danish Industries.

“It is therefore important for EAC partner states to sit down and agree on some necessary conditions for this to succeed,” he added.

The MoU seeks to, among other things, demonstrate the commitment and intention of national and regional employer organizations and trade unions to work closer together in exchanging information and coordinating views.