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Private sector new minimum wage out soon
2007-08-27 08:32:55
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
The government will announce a minimum wage for private sector employees by next month, the Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development, Jeremiah Sumari has said.
Sumari broke the news over the weekend while talking to workers of a textile company, Sunflag (T) Ltd.
Hundreds of employees told the minister that they were being paid meager wages.
Some said they were getting as low as 48,000/- per month, an amount they said could hardly last a week.
Sumari said wage commissions formed in February specifically to recommend minimum wages for the private sector would submit their final reports by the end of this month.
`Shortly afterwards, the Minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development will issue a government declaration,` he said.
Sumari said the new minimum wage should be a starting point of wage negotiations between employers and employees.
`We are aware that some companies, because of the nature of the business, are making huge profits. These should not capitalize on the official minimum wage as an excuse to underpay their staff,` Sumari said.
The minister also consoled the six female factory staff who on May, 10, 2007, collapsed in their production line after inhaling poisonous gas.
Sunflag Tanzania Limited Executive Director Ajay Shah said the mill was a rising export organization, which was involved in international trade.
It manufactures garments, mosquito nets, khanga, vitenges, suiting and bed sheets for the African market.
Sunflag (T) Ltd, one of the local firms that have taken advantage of AGOA, employs 3,000 workers.
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