Retrenchment Trends in Tanzania amidst COVID – 19

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous effects to the world of work globally and Tanzania is not exceptional. Due to containment measures adopted production and consumption of goods and services has been disturbed causing disruptions in demand and supply chain. This has made organizations to undergo retrenchment due to operational requirements. Whereas labor laws provide for protection of employees’ rights during the retrenchment exercise, the practice has proven to be otherwise. This paper employed qualitative methodology and conducted an in-depth interview to twelve purposeful selected respondents from education and tourism sector and legal experts, to analyze the situation in Tanzania. The key finding is despite the fact the employees are knowledgeable of employers breaching of their rights, they are not willing to take legal action due to the promised reemployment. It is recommended to review the labor laws to make them proactive, engage in bilateral negotiations in cases where labor laws are silent, social security funds have to be responsive in such uncertainties and the government has to oversee that employers get prepared for such quandaries.