Police roped into Mtibwa Sugar ‘forced’resignation saga
What you need to know:
- The company and police have, however, refuted the claims.
- On September 26, this year, workers at the factory had reportedly planned to stage a strike over a 10 per cent salary increase they accused their employer of failing to honour.
Morogoro. Seven workers at Mtibwa Sugar Company are accusing a senior manager at the firm of conniving with the police to coerce them into signing resignation letters after they were arrested for allegedly organising a strike to push for a salary increment.
The company and police have, however, refuted the claims.
On September 26, this year, workers at the factory had reportedly planned to stage a strike over a 10 per cent salary increase they accused their employer of failing to honour.
But, according to Sudy Ntutuguru, one of the seven workers suspected of organising the strike, officers from the Field Force Unit rounded them up and bundled those who defied orders to return to work onto a vehicle. “We were taken to the police station and questioned for two days; on the next day our boss came with papers and forced us to write resignation letters under police custody, thereafter we were taken back to our homes,” he said.
“They then forced us to take our luggage before the police escorted us to Msamvu Bus Terminal to get transport to leave for our homes.”
But the acting Morogoro Regional Police Commander, Mr Leons Rwegasira, refuted the claims saying the company had called them to maintain peace and order because the workers had planned a strike.
He said at no point did the police force the workers to write resignation letters. “That is between the employer and workers, not a police matter,” he said.
Mr Stanley Rau, general manager at Mtibwa Sugar, also dismissed claims they forced workers to write resignation letter under police custody. He said the workers quit their jobs on their own volition. He acknowledged, however, that there was a misunderstanding on conditions of service between the two parties, which has since been resolved.
But the regional office of the Tanzania Plantation and Agriculture Workers Union (TPAWU) backed the workers’ claims. It named those affected as Sudy Ntutuguru, Japhary Lugenge, Elisha Kipopele, Mathias Kindole, Tyson Gasper, Benjamin Brosso and Salumon Wahenga.
