TPCC Annual Report 2008.indd - HeidelbergCement

Tanzania Portland Cement Company Ltd, Annual Report 2008
After the Company in October 2006 won the case brought against 933 trespassers occupying the Company’s land, the
extraordinary lengthy appeal process has continued in 2008 preventing the Company from repossessing the land. The
presence of the trespassers on the Company’s land just to the east of the quarry is endangering the operation as it limits
the safe expansion of the quarry operation.
Contrary to earlier promises, the Government completely removed the suspended duty on imported cement in July
2008. The policy communicated by the Government to the Company before it decided to invest in the expansion
project was that the suspended duty would only be gradually reduced (by 5 percentage points per year) down to 25%
in 2010 and would remain unchanged thereafter. A predictable business environment is important for industrial inves-
tors and the Government’s abrupt change in policy in July 2008 is not compatible with such predictability.
The Company reached agreements with gas suppliers for the delivery of additional volumes of gas until mid-2014. The
Company’s requirement for thermal energy which adequately caters for the new production line has thus been secured
for this period.
Employee welfare
Relationship between management and employees
A voluntary agreement entered into between the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (TUICO) and
the Company governs the relationship between management and employees. A new agreement covering the period
2009 – 2010 was signed in December 2008.
Medical facilities
The Company fully meets the cost of medical consultation and treatment for all employees and their immediate families.
Industrial safety
The Company has facilities and equipment in place, which meet the requirements contained in the Occupational Health
and Safety Act, 2003 and other relevant legislation concerning industrial safety.
Training
The Company’s ongoing training activities continued in 2008 and these activities have been coordinated with the activi-
ties of the expansion project.
Emoluments
Salary levels are adjusted annually within the Company’s means after negotiations between TUICO and management.
The 2008 increments were agreed in January 2008. During the year under review, all permanent employees had in-
come levels of TZS 3 million per annum or more.
Employee benefits
Some employees are members of Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF) and others are members of National Social Security
Fund (NSSF). The Company contributes 15% of basic salary of each employee to PPF and 10% of gross salary to NSSF
on behalf of all permanent employees. Retirement benefits payable under the Parastatal Pension Scheme are supple-
mented by an endowment scheme, the cost of which is fully met by the Company and is calculated at 10% of the em-
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