Security firms in massive cheating
SECURITY firms here have been identified as being among employers who underpaid their workers massively and cheated shamelessly on contributions to social security funds, investigation by the Sunday News has revealed.
PATI MAGUBIRA in Mwanza
SECURITY firms here have been identified as being among employers who underpaid their workers massively and cheated shamelessly on contributions to social security funds, investigation by the Sunday News has revealed.
According to sources in the Labour Department, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and National Social Security Fund (NSSF), security firms were notorious for keeping cooked ledgers in order to throw inspectors off tract on matters like salaries and actual labour force.
“Some of the allegations are true, but others are not,” said Deusdedit Mhanuzi, Director of Supreme International, a security company here.
The firms workers recently threatened to take their employer to court allegedly for flouting employment rules and for non-payment of their salaries for three months. They were also not paid their leave allowances, if they were allowed to go on leave at all, they said.
The NSSF has dragged the company to court for non-payment of contributions for every worker hired for at least a month as stipulated by law. The company allegedly pledged to pay by installments more than 15m/- it owed the NSSF for the workers retirement benefits.
While the case of Supreme International has romped into spotlight, sources said many security firms kept at least three separate payrolls intended to cheat inspectors about the companies actual obligations on matters of taxation and statutory social benefit commitments.
The employers also applied several dirty tricks, including changing names of their staff after every three months to avoid permanent employment contracts. Others changed names or hired new employees on a daily basis for the same reason.
Owing to lack of employment opportunities, the workers have no alternative but to accept the terms, one of the sources said.
On the other hand, stiff competition amongst social security funds has made them to soften application of the otherwise highly stringent rules for workers social benefits. Some employers have been threatening to switch membership to social security funds.
However, the situation remains perilous. For example, Supreme International guards were allegedly promised 2,000/- daily allowance for handling guns but have never whiffed even its mere distant scent. “What if one ran off with a gun?” queried one of the guards.
Supreme International was reportedly well paid for providing security services at the CCM Kirumba Stadium during the Taifa Stars versus Senegal match but the guards claimed they were each paid a meagre 500/- only.
Fish processing factories were also said to be among other cheats on taxation, staffing levels and social security contributions.
Source: Daily News
