the parliamentary committee for scrutiny to make a bill. The bill is discussed in the na-
tional assembly. If passed, it is sent to the President for approval. When the bill is ap-
proved it becomes an act. The act can now be used as law. Regulatory legislation is cat-
egorised into three main areas. The first is protective regulations, which are mainly con-
cerned with the protection of employees’ rights. They include the security of employ-
ment act 1964, industrial court of Tanzania act 1967, work-man’s compensation act, cap
263, severance allowance act 1962, and regulations of wages and terms of employment
ordinance cap 300. The second category concerns grievance handling.
These regulations are used when there is a grievance or dispute between the em-
ployer and the employee. The regulations include the permanent labour tribunal act
1967, factories act 1991, the public service (negotiating machinery) act 2003 and the
employment and labour law act 2007. The third category are regulations designed to
establish specific institutions to keep relations in the organisations harmonious, they
include the pensions ordinance cap 371 and the national social security fund act 1997.
Grievance and discipline at the working place
In the employment contract, employees as well as the employers have basic rights and
obligations to meet in order to maintain a harmonious working relationship and co-
existence. However, if there are grievances and a lack of discipline, the organisation and
employees cannot effectively meet their obligations. Grievance and discipline manage-
ment are means for resolving differences in working relationships. There are many con-
cepts used in literature that govern the main issues in discipline management. For ex-
ample, Torrington & Hall (1991) provide useful explanations of important key concepts
in discipline and grievance management in organisations, which we need to share here.
Discipline
This is a regulation of human activity to produce a controlled performance. For exam-
ple, time keeping, attendance, performance according to standard etc. In an organisa-
tion, discipline is shaped by the nature of the organisation (production, service delivery,
location, history, local or foreign, big or small) organisational culture including man-
agement style, values and norms. These factors determine how events, situations or pro-
cedures that affect parties are perceived and interpreted. For example, a bureaucratic
organisation with dozens of rules and regulations is likely to create an environment for
the development of grievances and indiscipline than is the case with more decentralised
structure with flexible working regulations.
Grievance
Grievance is a complaint that has been formally presented to the management represen-
tative or union official. It arises from dissatisfaction and complaint. The grievance may
be reported in writing or verbally. What is important is the complainant’s intention to
pursue the matter officially.
Complaint
This is a spoken or written dissatisfaction that is brought to the attention of the supervi-
sor or a team leader. The dissatisfaction could lie in matters related to performance, pay,
and conditions of work or just relationships at the workplace.