The Labour Division of the High Court of Tanzania yesterday gave National Microfinance Bank (NMB) workers three hours to report back to work, effectively ending a countrywide strike over pay that began on Monday.
Delivering his ruling, Judge Ernest Mwipopo directed the workers to be at their working stations by 8 am today without fail.
He said the NMB management was at liberty to take disciplinary measures against any worker not complying with the court order.
``In line with the laws regulating labour matters, I hereby declare the strike illegal and direct that all workers resume work today,`` stated the Judge.
Judge Mwipopo said the strike was illegal because the 48-hour strike notice sent to the NMB management at 10:30 am on Friday by leaders of the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (TUICO) was wrong in that it counted working hours to Sunday evening while, according to the law on employment, Sunday is designated as a holiday and should have been skipped.
The 48-hour notice ought to have run until Monday evening and the strike should have started on Tuesday, added the judge.
He said a second reason the workers` move was illegal was that the TUICO notice did not indicate the duration of the strike.
The third reason he gave was that the notice contradicted itself by not clearly showing how the government was involved in the conflict ``because in some paragraphs it was said the government participated in the tripartite negotiations chaired by Labour, Employment and Youth Development minister Prof Juma Kapuya while at the same time the government was being condemned for not signing the agreement``.
Accordingly, Judge Mwipopo ordered the TUICO national leadership and the bank`s management to notify all NMB workers that they were supposed to report back at their work stations as ordered by the court.
However, he warned the NMB management against punishing any worker in connection with his or her involvement in the strike.
The judge further ordered that, after work resumes at all NBM branches, the three parties should go back to negotiations so as to find a lasting solution to the conflict.
The talks would involve representatives of the government, the NMB management and TUICO.
He added that the case filed by the NMB management against TUICO national leaders would be determined on September 26.
Meanwhile, NMB Chief Executive Officer Ben Christianse said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that any employee of the bank not reporting back for work today would risk disciplinary measures.
The NMB workers went on strike to press for the signing of an agreement on their welfare knocked into shape at previous tripartite talks.
The strike paralysed the bank`s services across the country.
SOURCE: Guardian
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