Court Injunction Stops Teachers’ Strike in Tanzania

A long planned Tanzanian teachers’ strike scheduled to start on Wednesday has been canceled following a government court injunction blocking the nationwide industrial action from taking place, APA learned Wednesday.

Announcing the cancellation, the Tanzania Teachers’ Union (CWT) president, Gratian Mkoba, said that the union was preparing a formal appeal to the High Court to have the injunction removed under a state of urgency.

“The Tanzania High Court slapped us with the injunction. We cannot proceed with the strike Wednesday as scheduled but our lawyers will lodge our appeal on Wednesday,” Mkoba told teachers in Dar es Salaam.

In another development, the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) on Wednesday condemned the government’s move to stop the strike, asserting that it was improper for the government to use its organs such as the courts to deny teachers their rights.

Speaking to APA Wednesday in Dar es Salaam many teachers have vowed to proceed with the strike action irrespective of the court order and urged their Union leaders not to turn back until the government addresses their plight.

According to Mkoba, the government owes the public servants $20 million in allowance arrears out of which $15 million is for teachers alone.

Source African Press Agency

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