Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

The Committee notes the Government’s report, in particular the adoption of the new Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004 which repeals the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 366) in its entirety. The Committee notes with satisfaction that the new legislation is in substantial conformity with the provisions of the Convention and incorporates most of the improvements that the Office has had the opportunity to suggest in reviewing earlier drafts. For instance, the Committee notes that section 27(4) of the new legislation follows closely the requirements of Article 4 of the Convention regarding payment in kind while section 28(2) reflects the terms of Paragraph 2 of the Protection of Wages Recommendation, 1949 (No. 85), on wage deduction for loss or damage, in line with the Office comments of April 2000 and July 2003. The Committee also notes that the new Employment and Labour Relations Act prescribes in section 102(4) specific penalties for wage-related offences.

However, the Committee notes that two other aspects of the Convention do not appear to be adequately reflected in the new legislation; namely, the attachment and assignment of wages and the preferential treatment of wage claims in the event of the employer’s bankruptcy. The Committee requests, therefore, that the Government specifies the legal provisions regulating the conditions under which, and the limits within which, wages may be attached or assigned. Moreover, while noting section 28(6) of the new Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004, which sets a 26-week limit to wage claims to be protected in the case of bankruptcy or winding up of an employer’s business, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the provision(s) explicitly recognizing workers as privileged creditors and defining the relative priority of wage claims among privileged debts. In this connection, the Committee recalls that the Government, in its report under article 19 of the ILO’s Constitution submitted for the purposes of the 2003 General Survey on the protection of wages Convention and Recommendation, had stated that workers are treated as privileged creditors as a matter of practice even in the absence of national laws or regulations on this matter. The Committee would appreciate receiving additional explanations in this respect. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the regulations referred to in section 98(2)(d), (f), (i) and (m) of the new Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004, have been issued and, if so, to transmit copies of these texts.

Application of the Convention in Zanzibar. Further to its previous comments on this point, the Committee notes that under section 2(1) of the new Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004, this Act applies to all employees, including those in the public service, in mainland Tanzania. The Committee is, therefore, obliged to reiterate its request for specific information concerning the state of law and practice in respect of wage protection in Zanzibar. The Committee recalls the Government’s earlier indication that it pursues active consultations with the Government of Zanzibar and trusts that the Government will soon be in a position to report on the concrete results of those consultations.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would make an effort to obtain and communicate in its next report, concrete information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, both in the mainland and Zanzibar, including, for example, reports of labour inspection services, statistics on the number of inspection visits carried out and the results obtained in matters covered by the Convention, as well as any other particulars which would facilitate the Committee’s task to supervise the observance of the standards set out in the Convention.