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| Business |
| Tama to retrench 40 employees |
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by
Tadala Makata Kakwesa, 31 October 2005
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06:35:12
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The Tobacco Association of Malawi (Tama) is next month expected to lay off 40 employees following the restructuring of its operations.
Tama’s Executive Secretary Felix Mkumba said the retrenchment is part of a six year restructuring exercise embarked on three years ago.
Mkumba said the retrenchment was decided after realising that the number of workers was too big.
“It’s a process of restructuring in tune with the organisation’s modernisation so that we align ourselves with the changes of the industry in order to keep the aspirations of the farmers. We are reviewing achievements, implementation policies so that we are in tune with objectives,” he said.
The retrenchment has come at a time when the tobacco industry is undergoing serious reforms following recommendations by both the government and the World Bank to, among others, remove the Hessian Levy.
“We are trying to review and find out what our structure, management and policy making level are like. We are looking for people who are competent enough to remain with Tama. These will be trained and become multi-skilled so that they are able to look at all sections and Tama’s activities competently,” said Mkumba
He said the interest should not only be on the issue of retrenchment but also the benefits and importance of having a reasonable number of competent employees.
He said through the restructuring process, Tama has introduced co-operatives where farmers will be grouping themselves and benefiting from Tama. He said the co-operatives are so far being implemented in the Northern Region first.
Last year Tama laid off 70 out of the 150 employees it had.
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