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Ethiopia - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Addis Ababa

 

CLIMATE

Tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation.

 

LANGUAGES

Amharic, Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga, Somali, Arabic, other local languages and English (major foreign language taught in schools).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Currently transitional mix of national and regional courts.

 

CURRENCY

Ethiopian Birr (1 USD = 8.79750 ETB as of April 15, 2002).

 

ETHIOPIA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

ETHIOPIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Addis Ababa

Entoto Street

P.O. Box 1014

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Telephone: [251] (1) 550-666

Fax: [251] (1) 551-328

http://www.telecom.net.et/~usemb-et/

 

Embassy of Ethiopia at Washington D.C.

3506 International Drive, NW

Washington, DC 20008

Telephone: (202) 364-1200

Fax: (202) 686-9551

Email: ethiopia@ethiopianembassy.org

http://www.ethiopianembassy.org/

 

ETHIOPIA - HOLIDAYS

ETHIOPIA - LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 90 days – 100% of pay (paid by employer).

 

ETHIOPIA - MINIMUM AGE

Under the law, the minimum age for wage or salary employment is 14 years; special provisions cover children between the ages of 14 and 18, including the prohibition of night work or hazardous work. The Government defines hazardous work as work in factories or involving machinery with moving parts, or any work that could jeopardize children's health.

 

Children between the ages of 14 and 18 years may not work more than 7 hours per day, work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., work on public holidays or rest days, or perform overtime work.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Ethiopia – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

ETHIOPIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The Government mandates a minimum wage of 120 birr per month (approximately $15) for all wage earners in both the private and public sectors; in addition each industry and service sector has established its own minimum wage. For example, public sector employees, the largest group of wage earners, earn a minimum wage of 175 birr per month (approximately $22); employees in the banking and insurance sector have a minimum wage of 200 birr per month (approximately $25).

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Ethiopia – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

ETHIOPIA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

ETHIOPIA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides most workers with the right to form and join unions, but the law specifically excludes teachers and civil servants, including judges, prosecutors, and security services, from organizing unions. The minimum number of workers required to form a union is 20. Only 300,000 workers are unionized. The law also prohibits workers who provide essential services from striking. Essential services are defined broadly to include air transport services, railways, bus service, postal, police and fire services, banking, telecommunications, and medical services.

 

The law stipulates that a trade organization may not act in an overtly political manner. The law explicitly gives workers the right to strike to protect their interests, but it also sets forth restrictive procedures that apply before a legal strike may take place. These apply equally to an employer's right to lock out workers. Strikes must be supported by a majority of the workers affected. The law prohibits retribution against strikers, but labor leaders state that most workers are not convinced that the Government would enforce this protection. Both sides must make efforts at reconciliation, provide at least 10 days' notice to the Government, include the reasons for the action, and in cases already before a court or labor board, the party must provide at least a 30-day warning. If an agreement between unions and management cannot be reached, the Minister of Labor may refer the case to arbitration by a Labor Relations Board (LRB). The Government has established LRB's at the national level and in some regions. The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs appoints each LRB chairman, and the four board members include two each from trade unions and employer groups. Some efforts to enforce labor regulations are made within the formal industrial sector. Some private sector workers, including construction workers and Ethiopian Airlines mechanics, went on strike during the year over salary issues. Labor officials have stated that in view of high unemployment and long delays in the hearing of labor cases, some workers are afraid to participate in strikes or other labor actions.

The ETA formerly had a membership of 120,000; however, that number has decreased significantly due to government intimidation and restrictions on ETA activities. In 1995 the leadership of the ETA filed with the ILO a freedom of association complaint against the Government. Security forces harassed members of the ETA and closed their offices; however, the ETA still is registered. In 2000 the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association issued a strong criticism of the Government for its restrictions on freedom of association. The president of the ETA was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1999 for inciting violence (see Section 1.d.). In 1999 the Government encouraged and publicly supported the organization and registration of a second teachers' association.

 

There is no requirement that unions belong to the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU), which includes all nine federations organized by industrial and service sectors rather than by region.

 

In January employees of the Chinese Addis Ababa Road Authority began to strike after 60 workers were dismissed. The employees accused the Authority of not allowing them to organize. After the intervention of the CETU, most of the employees who were fired were allowed to return to work; however, the union leader was dismissed, allegedly for theft.

 

Independent unions and those belonging to CETU are free to affiliate with and participate in international labor bodies. Some unions have affiliated with international organizations.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of union activities. Employer interference was not a major problem; however, there was government interference, and the Government has the authority to cancel union registration. Collective bargaining is protected under the law and under the Constitution for most workers and is practiced freely throughout the country. Labor experts estimate that more than 90 percent of unionized workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Wages are negotiated at the plant level.

 

The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers against union members and organizers; however, unions reported that union activists frequently are fired. Unlawful dismissal suits often take years to resolve because of case backlogs in the labor courts. There are grievance procedures for hearings on allegations of discrimination brought by individuals or unions. Employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination are required to reinstate workers fired for union activities. Labor leaders point to a number of court cases that are 4 or 5 years old in which workers have been terminated for union activities as examples of inattention by the courts to worker rights. Seasonal and part-time agricultural workers are not organized even on state-owned plantations. Seasonal workers' compensation, benefits, and working conditions are far below those of unionized permanent plantation employees.

 

There were several labor disputes reported during the year; through the intervention of the CETU, most were resolved in the favor of the workers. In April and July, employees at two private companies were dismissed from their jobs; among those fired were union leaders who had been lobbying for improved salaries and benefits. After the CETU intervened and negotiated on behalf of the employees with their employers, most were able to return to work, and in both cases, they returned with additional benefits.

 

In 2000 a private company dissolved its labor union after a disagreement between management and workers. A total of 586 workers were expelled from the company, including union leaders. The Government attempted to mediate the dispute, but the employer did not cooperate; the case was expected to be referred to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs during the year.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Criminal Code, which applies to persons over the age of 15, specifically prohibits forced labor; however, forced labor can be used by court order as a punitive measure. For example, there were credible reports that persons detained after the April riots in Addis Ababa were subjected to forced labor at Sendafa police facility, Showa Robit rehabilitation center, and the Zeway prison. The Constitution proscribes slavery, and involuntary servitude. There were no reports of slavery within the country.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, young girls reportedly were forced into prostitution by family members. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that young girls were sold into prostitution or that poor rural families sold their young teenage daughters to hotel and bar owners on the main truck routes; however, the practice is believed to exist. There also were numerous anecdotal accounts of young persons, especially girls, traveling to the Middle East to work as house servants and nannies, some of whom were abused, including sexually.

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

Under the law, the minimum age for wage or salary employment is 14 years; special provisions cover children between the ages of 14 and 18, including the prohibition of night work or hazardous work. The Government defines hazardous work as work in factories or involving machinery with moving parts, or any work that could jeopardize children's health.

 

Children between the ages of 14 and 18 years may not work more than 7 hours per day, work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., work on public holidays or rest days, or perform overtime work. While the Government has made some effort to enforce these regulations within the formal industrial sector, social welfare activists, civic organizers, government officials, and employers agree that child labor is pervasive throughout the country, especially in the informal sector. In urban areas, numerous children can be seen working in a variety of jobs, including shining shoes, hustling passengers into cabs, working as porters, selling lottery tickets, and herding animals. Child domestic workers are common.

 

Child laborers often are abused. A research study published in 1999 reported that the prevalence of child abuse among urban child laborers is 70 percent, compared with 24.5 percent among non-economically active children from the same urban district. The study concluded that physical and emotional abuse were twice as common among child workers compared with nonworkers, sexual abuse was five times as common, and neglect was eight times as common. Among child workers surveyed, rapes occurred exclusively among child domestics.

 

A second 1999 research study of child labor sponsored by the CETU's National Federation of Farm, Plantation, Fishery, and Agro-industry Trade Unions focused on rural locations. The study reported that 30 percent of the workers on state farms surveyed were between the ages of 7 and 14. Child workers, who worked alongside parents hired by the state, typically worked 6 days a week, received no benefits, and earned less than $10 (80 birr) a month. At 1 plantation, 75 percent of the children worked 12-hour days. There also is evidence that children as young as 14 years old are permitted to join local militias with the consent of village leaders. This reportedly is part of an effort to keep children in local areas despite limited educational or employment opportunities. The Government maintains that most economically active children are engaged in family-based, nonexploitative child work that is part of the socialization process and maintains that there is not a child labor problem.

 

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is the authority designated to enforce child labor laws. The Government's definition of worst forms of child labor includes prostitution and bonded labor; however, the Government is not a signatory to ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor. In 1999 a forum on child labor was launched by over 80 governments, NGO and foreign entities, including the ILO, to combat such problems as child prostitution, which is perceived widely to be growing. The forum concluded that the worst forms of child labor have increased in recent years, particularly child prostitution and the use of children in agricultural work where they are exposed to pesticides and insecticides. The forum submitted some recommendations to the Ministry of Labor; however, no further action was taken by year's end.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, there are reports that it occurs.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Government mandates a minimum wage of approximately $15 (120 birr) per month for all wage earners in both the private and public sectors; in addition each industry and service sector has established its own minimum wage. For example, public sector employees, the largest group of wage earners, earn a minimum wage of approximately $22 (175 birr) per month; employees in the banking and insurance sector have a minimum wage of $25 (200 birr) per month. According to the Office of the Study of Wages and Other Remuneration, these wages are insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Consequently most families must have at least two wage earners to survive, which is one of the reasons children leave school early. In addition only a small percentage of the population is involved in wage labor employment, which is concentrated largely in urban areas.

 

The legal workweek, as stipulated in the Labor Law, is 48 hours, consisting of 6 days of 8 hours each, with a 24-hour rest period. However, it is not enforced effectively, and in practice, most employees work a 40-hour workweek consisting of 5 8-hour days.

 

The Government, industry, and unions negotiate to set occupational health and safety standards; however, the inspection department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs enforces these standards ineffectively, due to a lack of human and financial resources. Enforcement also is inhibited by a lack of detailed, sector-specific health and safety guidelines. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardy to continued employment; however, most workers fear losing their jobs if they were to do so.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law and the Constitution prohibit trafficking in persons; however, Ethiopia is a country of origin for trafficked women, and there are reports of internal trafficking. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that rural families sold their daughters to hotel and bar owners on the main truck routes; however, the practice is believed to exist. In 2000 there was a report that a girl was sold by her father to a local man in exchange for cattle; the girl's mother brought the case to the EWLA. The case was prosecuted in the courts, and the father was convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison; this was the first case of this kind. Although illegal, the abduction of women and girls as a form of marriage still is practiced widely in Oromiya regions and the SNNPRS.

 

The Government no longer acts as an employment agency for workers going abroad. Private entities now arrange for overseas work and, as a result, the number of women being sent to Middle Eastern countries, particularly Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, as domestic or industrial workers increased significantly. There reportedly is a network of persons based in the tourism and import-export sectors who are involved heavily in soliciting potential clients, recruiting young girls, arranging travel, and fabricating counterfeit work permits, travel documents, and birth certificates. There continued to be credible reports that some domestic workers abroad were subjected to abusive conditions, including sexual exploitation. In addition the employers of the domestics sometimes seize passports, fail to pay salaries, and overwork the domestics, and some domestics were forced to work for their employers' relatives without additional pay. Domestics have been forced to pay a monetary penalty for leaving their employment early. There are reports of confinement and obstruction of contacting family. Reports of abuse decreased after the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs began reviewing the contracts of prospective domestic workers and denying exit visas if the contracts did not appear satisfactory.

 

 

ETHIOPIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

ETHIOPIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The legal workweek, as stipulated in the Labor Law, is 48 hours, consisting of 6 days of 8 hours each, with a 24-hour rest period. However, it is not enforced effectively, and in practice, most employees work a 40-hour workweek consisting of 5 8-hour days.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Ethiopia – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)