the roots of the modern tanzanian labor movement reach back to the 1940s. by 1947, five unions had been registered with the authorities. the colonial government reacted to the creation of unions in tanzania by enacting laws which allowed it to keep tabs on the movement – for example, the registration of unions become obligatory. nonetheless, the labor movement grew, by 1956 there were 23 organizations with a total of nearly 13,000 members.