Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 1983)

Article 2 of the Convention. National policy on nursing services and nursing personnel. With reference to its previous comment on national health care policy and the institutional framework within which the representative organizations of nursing personnel are consulted, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to the adoption of the National Health Policy in 2007 as well as various governmental Directives. Furthermore, in its previous comment, the Committee had requested the Government to transmit a copy of the latest edition of the National Nursing and Midwifery Policy Guidelines. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide a copy of the latest edition of the Guidelines and does not provide information on the review process of the 2002 National Nursing and Midwifery Policy Guidelines. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide up-to-date information regarding the review process of these Guidelines and to transmit a copy of the latest edition of the Guidelines. The Committee would also appreciate receiving a copy of the 2007 National Health Policy and a copy of the Government Directives providing for the consultation of the representative organizations of nursing personnel.

Article 5. Consultations with representative organizations of nursing personnel. With reference to its previous comment on collective agreements currently in force in the healthcare sector, the Committee notes that a copy of the adopted Labour Institutions Wage Order (GN. 196 of June 2013), based on recommendations from various Wage Boards, is provided by the Government. It also takes good note of the Government’s indications that agreements have been concluded between the Tanzania Union for Government and Health Employees (TUGHE) and different health facility owners and employers at an institutional level. The Committee asks the Government to keep providing information on any collective agreement in force in the healthcare sector or any regulatory text that may have been the result of consultations with representative organizations of nursing personnel.

Article 6. Working conditions of nursing personnel. In its previous comment, the Committee had requested the Government to transmit detailed information concerning the specific conditions applicable to nursing personnel. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s reply that there are no legal texts providing for terms and conditions of employment of nursing personnel in a manner distinctly different from other workers. It also notes the Government’s reference to the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004, which applies to all employees both in the public and private sectors. As indicated before by the Committee, the specificity of nursing services often calls for particular working conditions which take account of the constraints and hazards inherent in the profession. In this connection, the Committee had also referred to Paragraphs 30 43 of the Nursing Personnel Recommendation, 1977 (No. 157), which gave useful guidance on this point. The Committee therefore requests the Government to examine the possibility of making special arrangements or benefits, including national laws and regulations or collective agreements, concerning the specific conditions applicable to nursing personnel, especially in relation to shift work, overtime, inconvenient hours and rest periods.