Labour prospective systems in post-colonial Tanzania: a study of the relevant legislation

This dissertation seeks to investigate the nature and content of legislative provision for labour protective systems in post-colonial Tanzania. The inquiry is confined to an examination of the theory and practice of the legislation relating to job security, severance of employment and old-age benefit schemes. Furthermore, an examination is made regarding certain protective aspects of the conditions of employment such as the regulation of wages, compensation for work injury and the system of paid leave and rest days. With regard to the provision for job security, the legislative safeguards against cessation of employment by way of summary dismissal, termination and redundancy are examined. Comparable aspects of the safeguards provided in other jurisdictions and particularly the English labour regime are also discussed. Apart from an exploration of the procedural aspects of labour protection, the content of substantive protection and monetary compensation for cessation of employment is examined. The treatment of old-age security systems is restricted to the National Provident Fund and parastatal pensions schemes. Besides an examination of the coverage of these schemes, the work explores the extent of involvement of the contributing members of the schemes in the administration of the same. The adequacy of the schemes' benefits and their investment practices in relation to the social interest sought to be protected are closely scrutinized. While dealing with the various aspects of labour protection this work is also concerned with the role of an interplay of several forces which have moulded the present character of labour protection in Tanzania.Three main forces were identified in the trade union movement, the state and or the employers and the international community as represented by the ILO in its concern for labour protection on a global scale.The work ultimately reveals a close relationship between the legal provision for labour protection and the use of law by the state in controlling wage labour. The study concludes by arguing that labour protectionism in the politics of the Tanzanian state appears to be linked with its endeavours to win the support of the working class in bolstering the economy of the country within the dictates of compradorial capital. In the final analysis the politics of labour protection are designed to protect the larger interests of capital.