TANZANIA Invest Centre (TIC) and the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA) have signed a collaborative agreement to address workplace disputes between investors and their employees.

This is meant to improve the investment environment, improve the workplace environment, spur economic growth and attract more investors.

Gilead Teri, TIC Executive Director said on Thursday at a signing ceremony that the move is part of efforts to implement the government’s directives to ensure local and foreign investors do not face hurdles that impede their investment endeavours.

“This is a historic moment for TIC and CMA as we have agreed to collaborate to raise awareness and understanding on issues related to mediation and arbitration specifically to address conflicts between staff and their employers who happen to be the investor,” he said.

“We also want to ensure investors are aware of their rights and obligations through ensuring they have accurate information on the laws, procedures and principles from CMA which are mandatory for every investor.”

Teri said that the collaboration targets to inspire dialogue between CMA, TIC and labour union representatives to avoid escalations which could lead to investors being penalized, adding that such discussions will be held within TIC and CMA’s systems.

Usekelege Mpulla, director of CMA, said CMA’s task is to resolve disputes at workplace, adding that their engagement with TIC targets to enable a conducive investment environment. 

“It is vital to know that the main goal of labour and employment relations law is to spur economic growth in the country through social justice. That is where we realized that our goals are the same as those of TIC. The more investments we have, the more job opportunities are created," he said.

“However, the rise in both these issues also means there is a high possibility of an increase in disputes. We intervene when conflicts arise between investors and employees. We will do what we can to ensure we create a peaceful environment to attract more investors.”

Mpulla, said CMA has key responsibility to ensure all disputes are resolved on time without rights being compromised and ensure both employees and employers use most of their time for production activities to grow the economy instead of wasting time on dispute resolution.