UNIONISED workers at Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) have downed tools to press for the removal of managing director, Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika and payment of K2.4 billion in outstanding leave pay.
The workers have also appealed to President Michael Sata to quickly intervene and ask the newly-appointed minister of Labour, Sport, Youth and Gender to help resolve their plight.
Workers Union of TAZARA general secretary, Africa Mkandawire told the Times in an interview that the union had directed the workers to withdraw their labour following a meeting between the union and management on October 3 this year which failed to resolve the workers’ plight.
He said the union had asked the workers from Nakonde to Lusaka to stop work in protest against the continued stay of Mr Lewanika who they say was ineffective.
Mr Lewanika, when contacted, refused to comment.
When contacted for a comment TAZARA public relations manager, Conrad Simuchile said management was concerned by reports that the workers had withdrawn their labour demanding the removal of the managing director and a salary increment.
He said management was appealing for calm among the workers and urged them to give management a chance to look into issues they had raised and present them to the relevant organs of the TAZARA structure such as the TAZARA Joint Council and the board of directors.
But Mr Mkandawire said the workers also wanted the deputy managing director, corporation secretary and the regional general manager to be relieved of their duties.
He said the workers did not want the four officials because they were allegedly insensitive to their plight.
“Starting from today, operations will be paralysed on the Zambian side, in fact some workers at some stations have heeded our calls to withdraw labour and they are not working,” he said.
Mr Mkandawire said the workers were also demanding that the company amends its collective agreement so that workers retire at 60 years according to the Tanzanian law which they said the board and management of TAZARA were currently abrogating.
He said the workers were also being mistreated by the management by allegedly giving them tasks which were outside their job descriptions and that they were threatened with dismissal if they failed to do what they were assigned.
Mr Mkandawire claimed that Mr Lewanika had been absent from his Tanzanian office for the last two months and was currently staying in Lusaka.
[Times of Zambia]
Africa Mkandawire??????
And the saga continues,still more drama to follow
yaba..Aka in trouble..!what you get for being a sell out..
Dear toiling workers at TAZARA. When are you going to come to the realization that your TAZARA is a bankrupt organisation? Didnt you campaign for the removal of the former MD Henry Chipewo and the one before him? Did things change? I dont think so. Tazara is bankrupt, undercapitalized and running on dilapidated infrastructure. Have you ever wondered why your trains take 10 hrs for a journey that is supposed to take 3hrs? My advice to you is to seek early retirement for as long as TAZARA is not recapitalised and built from scratch you will be singing the same song no matter who the MD is! You cannot have goodies when your TAZARA is running at 30% capacity! Count yourselves lucky that u are even in employment!
i THINK WE JUST HAVE TO SHUT THE RAILWAY LINE AND WAIT UNTIL SENSIBLE PERSONS ARE EMPLOYED
Africa Mkandawire? What a name sure!
These hungry protestors should their fire.!
Its fallacy of the highiest level to sit and wait for your president to change your country. We the citizens collective, with the president leading us, should change this country for the better. I also think that the presidential directives should be minimized and let the invisible hand of Adam Smith (law of supply and demand take over) in various sectors of our economy. A good SMES policy (taking into consideration the cost of doing business, marketing challenges, cost of compliance, provide an expansionary monetary policy to allow SMES to borrow, etc) if established and emplemented should pilot job/creation and real economic grow.
No.4 Denkete you are a very sensible persons. I do not have any more to add on
real economic growth, lol
This is nearly becoming a circus. The labour govt before thatcher was crippled by senseless unions and now every jim and jack feels they have the answers to questions that ere beyond them. This will be a test of sata’s wisdom. Will he be pushed by these unions at the expense of the economy or basic order? Time will tell. May the Lord guide our nation!!!
The most sensible thing to do is close this line down. These so called unionized workers of Mkandawire wa Africa should all be fired.
You don’t know what you are talking about, this company needs to be re-branded, recapitalised and new business strategies developed. dont be shallow what is more expensive road freight or rail freight??
I hope Dr Guy Scott had his new office disinffected before moving in because for all we know, the former occupant has an incurable slimming ailment that for all purposes and intent might be contegious airborn style. Thanks God we now do not have to be subject to watching a self emolating fool dissolving right before our eyes because wherever Kunda ate his slimming diet coctail, we “was” not there.
People we all seem to have missed the point here, dont we need a railline from the port of Dar Es Salaam?? wont it reduce the cost of transportation of imports from the port to inland Zambia?? Now if we do need the railway line, who’s job is it to ensure that it is working efficiently, what are those executives getting paid for, are they not suppose to come up with capital and operational budgets, are they not suppose to develop new business strategies to revamp that old dinosaur, ba Lewanika we all know you to be very theoretical and less practical . redeem your self by turning that company around.. that’s why you are getting the big bucks.
The majority of Zambians should change their mind-set which is of a poverty consciousness!!!The problem is, the majority of Zambians tend to blame outside forces for their lack, and they usually want things to be handed to them on a silver plate, and it’s really sad that, because no matter what you are given even a good paying job, or even if you won the lotto, if you have a poverty consciousness like the majority of the people of Zambia, you will still end up failing, people are so blinded by self-pity/victim mentality they actually do not see opportunities, even if it slapped them in their face simply because they have poverty stricken minds which only allows them to see what their belief system accepts as reality…
Number 15, walasa. Power of positive thinking can change the out look of life. By changing our thoughts we change our reality. Epo mpelele
Bauze Cleo, donchi kubeba! Still counting on the Presido ti bring solutions within 90 days, lol!
Tazara can be a very important player in the economic growth of zambia. The best role it can perform is to support local industries to export goods out of zambia and import goods into zambia. Therefore our exports need to be growing at a scale that is meaningful(not sure what the stats are) and we need to have enough imports coming through.Is the revenue generated enough to sustain tazara? No, it is sustained by loans from china. This has been the case even before aka went there and might be the case in the near future. The truth is that RB did not want anyone with integrity near him and hence through Aka into that pit of fire. Hopefullly he will be able to come out like Daniel came out of the pit of fire. Aluta continua mother zambia!!!! Interesting times indeed
This same company you say bankrupt supported MMD with campagn money. if tis bankrupt am sure this time it cud ve been closed, there is no such business were u run on making a loss. this company makes money that why its still surviving. things need to be changed the problem is with these greed zambian managers who re used to getting brown envelopes & thinks every1 is having that same kind of money.
Why not proper issues like ama exorbitant bank charges and interests. These banks are over charghing us to keep our money. Not utu ma small issues like chi railway i cha ma chinese. This malawian chap is just trying to create confusion for no reason ni chi villain banda ichi atase!
he who is in a make shift house should be the first to understand the weakness of that structure.Let our friends at Tazara understand that President Sata need time,Tazara is no longer viable,infact it requires complete overhaul,as such mgt cannot have money to pay.Workers should not be lumpens who do not reason ;ask yourselves how much money your organisation makes and how is the recapitalisation programme if at all you have one .Be reminded that it is only a healthy cow that can give you milk not a sick cow.STOP what you are doing and mourn for your Tazara.
Workers at TAZARA should calmly await the minister of Labours mandate implementation. No# 4 what wisdom. No# 19 PASADENA GALU BONZO Mukandawire is Zambian with your reasoning the only real indigenous Zambians that shall be left are Toka Leya people groups ( tongas, ilas and Lenges). I frilly agree with your bank rates and fees, the should be adjusted downward.
Aka is a failure where ever he goes. He failed at Indeco; he failed to run Zambia Ceramics; he failed to run his two person party (Agenda for Zambia) with his sister now turned ambassador, where the duo where jostling for the position of president of the small party; he failed at state house as political adviser; and now he has failed to run Tazara. Zwa kaofela.
Tazara is viable thats why it has managed to survive, it just needs good managers both Tanzanians and Zambians. We know our company, with good managers it can be the envy of everyone
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recycled managers have contributed much to the downfall of tazara. the co-partners fil they are more animals than azas, plunders without care. managers have no heart for tazara’s development. These retirees on contracts are doing the waste for the last time in their life coz they did not invest before they retired. How do you espect a company to make profit. scrap off the plunderers to pave way for tazara