By Hellen Nachilongo

Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) has said that it will participate fully in a countrywide workers’ strike called by the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta) in May.

This comes in the wake of a notice by the Tucta recently that it had dedicated the International Labour Day on May 1 to mobilising all workers in the country to stage a countrywide strike for an endless period to pressurize the government to respond to workers’ demands.

The threat to lay down tools follows government failure to respond to the workers demands on the salary increments, a review of social security schemes and reduction on money deducted on workers’ salaries Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

TTU President, Mr Gratian Mukoba told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that they have decided to join hands with Tucta because teachers also have a number of demands that the government has neglected for years.

He said in most cases teachers are paid their salaries that could not even meet their demand.

“We wrote our requirements to the government that the lowest teacher should be paid Sh315,000 a month but it is five years since we did that and nothing has been done... the lowest pad teachers still receive Sh114,000,” he said.

He added that the government was still deducting huge taxes from the meagre salaries which was not even enough to make their ends meet.

Meanwhile, Tanzania Union of Government and Health Employees (Tughe) is today expected to make its position known on whether or not president Jakaya Kikwete or any government leader should be invited to grace this year’s workers’ celebrations, commonly known as May Day celebrations.

The Tughe secretary general, Mr Ali Kiwenge told reporters in Tanga yesterday that the union’s position on the issue will be made open at a press briefing in Dar es Salaam today.

“I will be travelling to Dar es Salaam today where I will hold a press conference tomorrow to make Tughe’s position on the issue open… do not press further because everything will be known just tomorrow,” he said at the sidelines of the union’s annual general council meeting.

Tughe’s position should come only days after Tucta announced to have officially served the government with a 30-day notice on its intention to call a nationwide strike to press authorities to respond to workers’ grievances.

Tucta has also announced that it will not invite any senior government leader because it (Tucta) has been doing so for years but workers have benefited nothing instead.

And, without mincing his words, Mr Kiwenge said yesterday that Mr Kikwete is himself a man who has the care of the people at heart, noting however that the president is being ill-advised by his advisors.

“The president’s advisors are advising him wrongly and this is what is inhibiting him from making decisions that are beneficial to workers and the nation at large…it’s about time they realized that workers are now tired of being ill-treated,” said the vividly concerned Mr Kiwenge.

Exhausted with being ‘tortured’ at the hands of leaders who ill-advise the president, the Tughe boss said the union is determined to sue all employers who ill-treat their workers.

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