By REBECCA MUSHOTA –

UNIONISED workers at the Tanzania Zambia Railways (TAZARA) in Mpika yesterday damaged company property as they protested against the non-payment of salary arrears.
The workers were also demanding that their salaries, which are quoted in US dollars, be paid at a rate that was favourable and that all four and not two months salary arrears should be paid at once.
TAZARA head, public relations Conrad Simuchile said the workers in Mpika protested against management’s announcement that only two of the four months’ salary arrears would be paid from the US$9.2million grant from the two shareholding governments, Zambia and Tanzania.
Mr Simuchile said the workers became unruly after being addressed by the regional general manager, Patrick Shangala, who explained to them that Government would be releasing the money in batches and that from the first batch, only two months’ salary arrears would be paid and that the other two months’ arrears would be cleared from subsequent releases from the two governments.
“In their unruly behaviour, the workers vandalised the reception at the Mpika Regional Offices, tampered with and immobilised two locomotives by removing some components from the engines.
“They also disconnected electricity power supply to the workshops, depot and railway station,” he said.
Mr Simuchile said one of the locomotives that was tampered with was conveying passengers at the time, and the action not only immobilised the passenger train, but inconvenienced 79 passengers who had to be rescued by the Zambia Railways passenger train that was also heading
to Kapiri Mposhi.
This he said, cost TAZARA K4, 364.00 to transfer the passengers on the Zambia Railways train.
Mr Simuchile said tempering with equipment and critical installations was a criminal offence and TAZARA has since reported the matter to police who have launched investigations and those involved had been arrested.
TAZARA Workers Union of Zambia (WUTAZ) president Kenneth Simwiza said in an interview that the union was disappointed that after agreeing with management in May to always agree on a favourable exchange rate before salaries were paid, management had prepared pay slips showing that the salaries would be paid at an exchange rate, not favourable to workers. Mr Simwiza said the initial agreement was reached to harmonise salaries between Zambian and Tanzanian workers.
Mr Simwiza said workers were also aggrieved that they would only be paid two months’ salary arrears instead of four.
He said the union would engage the workers and management to bring back harmony to the company because protests were not the best solution to problems.