THE Prime Minister’s Office for Labour, Youth, Employment, and Persons with Disabilities Labour Department has cited non-compliance with the law, forged documents, and failure to submit employee reports as some of the key challenges in foreign employment procedures.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam during a recent seminar aimed at educating media stakeholders on labour laws, Assistant Labour Commissioner - Inspection, Lilian Fransis, outlined eight major issues affecting the employment of foreigners. 

These include employers hiring foreigners without obtaining work permits or delaying their renewal, misuse of business visas as substitutes for work permits, and unauthorized individuals handling work permit applications.

Other concerns include foreigners performing duties beyond their approved permits, employers assigning foreign employees to multiple businesses they own, workplace harassment and discrimination, submission of incomplete or falsified documents, and failure to submit employee reports.

Lilian stated that the Labour Department has developed five key strategies: strengthening inspections, including joint audits; increasing education for employers, employees, and the public; enhancing cooperation and communication with stakeholders; reviewing laws and regulations; and building the capacity of labour officers for effective enforcement.

“While we recognize these achievements, these challenges continue to hinder government efforts to strengthen collaboration with private and public sector stakeholders to ensure compliance with labour laws and achieve national goals,” Lilian said.

Despite these challenges, she noted that foreign employment has played a significant role in improving the business and investment environment, creating job opportunities for locals, and boosting national revenue.

Meanwhile, Assistant Labour Commissioner for Work Permits, Rehema Moyo, emphasized the department’s commitment to engaging stakeholders to improve labour law enforcement stressing the importance of consultations with employers, employees, trade unions, and other stakeholders to ensure fair and effective implementation of regulations.

Assistant Labour Commissioner for Labour Relations, Andrew Mwalwisi, also called on media sector employers to comply with labour laws, emphasizing that employers and employees are interdependent. He underscored the need for strong labour relations, adherence to employment standards, and fairness to drive productivity and efficiency in the sector.