ADDIS ABABA – Except few rumors and one reported complain, employers in Ethiopia are fulfilling their corporate social responsibility in keeping the employee in its work place and implementing the COVID-19 Workplace Response Protocol, CETU and EEF said.
Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) Foreign and Public Relation Department Head, Measho Berihu told The Ethiopian Herald that there are good improvements in implementing the newly enacted workplace protocol by the employers.
Measho stated that there are some rumors of workers complaints in some institutions, but up to now only one formal complaint was reported to CETU by workers association of a company that leaves employees for 90 days without salary.
According to Measho, the protocol issued by Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) aims to properly protect workplace actors from contracting COVID-19; to minimize the negative impact of COVID-19 on the national economy, the sustainability of enterprises on social, economic situation and livelihood of workers with uniform solutions. As to him, Ethiopian employers are showing good developments in fulfilling their corporate social responsibility in protecting the rights of workers in their companies. For him, the employers are properly implementing the new workplace protocol both in taking safety measures and protecting the rights of the workers.
Measho noted that there is no reported dismissal of employees from their work and it is not expected even for the future. CETU is also working with the employers in awareness creation and to aware the protocol, he stated. Ethiopian Employers Federation (EEF) Marketing Manager, Yonas Tadesse on his part told The Ethiopian Herald that employers are in good position in practicing the new protocol.
He added that they are protecting the rights of workers at the cost of their companies. According to Yonas, the protocol has a positive impact for mutual benefit of the employer and the employee in this critical time where the world faces global pandemic.
He added that employers are taking measurements to protect their workers from COVID-19 by annual leave, shift work and providing necessary hygiene products. MoLSA announced COVID-19 Workplace Response Protocol to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the pandemic with basic prevention, administrative and legal measures.
The Ethiopian Herald April 11/2020
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
