BY FIKADU BELAY
The history of Ethiopia’s workers and employers has been a long one, just like the country’s civilization. By following a basic approach that is a gear changer, there has been a good revival. Various international business activities are showing greater interest than ever before and are looking at investment options. They are providing constructive input for the points of improvement in studies conducted by institutions.
Economic measures recognize some of the steps taken towards the establishment of the minimum wage system, including a legislative framework to set up a Wage Board that includes trade unions and civil society stakeholders.
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) calls on the government to make urgent efforts to implement these measures. Recalling its findings from monitoring it conducted over several months in 2021 in major industrial parks and sharing them with relevant government and non-government stakeholders, the Commission has highlighted that the average monthly wage remains insufficient to guarantee the right to an adequate standard of living.
The findings confirm other studies that show that close to half of the employed people in Ethiopia are poor (18 percent live in extreme poverty while 31 percent are moderately poor) (International Labor Organization, January 2022).
Inflation has risen by close to 35 percent in 2022 for the third consecutive year (Ethiopian Statistics Service), further exacerbated by rising food costs driven by multiple factors, including insecurity, global food prices, drought, and internal displacement. The fact that nationwide salary scales have not been revised since 2017 is an additional factor.
Indeed, achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all by 2030 is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which Ethiopia has formally committed, and decent work includes adequate remuneration.
In Ethiopia, especially in the big cities of the country, industrial producers, service providers, hotels, and tourism organizations employ many workers, and the workers deserve the same rights and other benefits.
On the other hand, there is a complete international legal system for domestic and foreign investors who want to participate in the country’s investment fields, so the role it will play in the development of the country will not be underestimated.
The right to work, the right to just and favorable conditions of work, and trade union rights are enshrined in international human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is a party. The FDRE Constitution also recognizes the rights to work and to be at work, such as those crucial to the determination of the minimum wage, including the right to form organizations and the right of women to equal pay for equal work.
It goes on to state that the government has the obligation to ensure that everyone gets an equal opportunity to improve their economic conditions and to promote equitable wealth distribution among them. Article 89(8) more clearly states that the government shall endeavor to protect and promote the health, welfare, and living standards of the working population of the country.
The right to just and favorable conditions of work means that work should provide an individual with remuneration that at a minimum guarantees a decent life (i.e., the individual and his or her family are able to enjoy other rights such as health care, education, and an adequate standard of living including food, water, sanitation, housing, clothing, and even commuting costs).
In addition, already in 2012, the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UN Treaty Body) recommended that Ethiopia take legislative and other measures to introduce a national minimum wage. The Committee also pointed out that the establishment of a minimum wage system is one of the ways to realize the right to work.
However, the minimum wage (i.e., the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced) is a requisite for the realization of many key elements of the right to work, such as a safe and just work environment, rest, leisure, and the limitation of working time. As such, it has a direct correlation to other rights, such as the protection of the family.
The Wage Board envisaged in the 2019 Labor Proclamation (1156/2019) is empowered to revise the minimum wage based on studies that take into account the country’s economic development, labor market, and other conditions. EHRC also notes that the draft minimum wage law has been submitted to the Council of Ministers for its deliberation and endorsement.
On the other hand, the Commission is also cognizant of reports of difficulties, including the direct and indirect impacts of the removal of Ethiopia from the list of Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary countries, the global context, insecurity, bureaucratic hurdles, and other socio-economic factors, including reports of large staff layoffs and the closure of businesses, all of which have also affected livelihoods and the standard of living.
However, the government’s duty to protect against human rights abuse and violation by third parties also comprises putting in place comprehensive policy and legislative frameworks to ensure businesses are socially sustainable, including and in particular during extreme situations both at the national level and for the businesses.
EHRC joins the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions and others in strongly urging the government to establish a minimum wage system. EHRC Chief Commissioner Dr. Daniel Bekele, reiterating the Commission’s earlier call, added that while the minimum wage is not a panacea to all the problems that workers are facing in Ethiopia, it is a crucial step that can ensure a decent living for the workers and their families, in particular, if it is coupled with other necessary socio-economic measures.
The leaders of today’s world powers, who have passed through a long period of history, have built the transcendental act that is valid for their country, not overnight. However, it is a field that needs to be improved rapidly through respect for rights, and if this process continues, it will build a country that is comfortable for the workers, which will be the first in Africa and competitive in the world.
Developing countries such as Ethiopia have a lot of new business investment activities, and at the same time, strong government institutions that monitor the conditions of workers and comprehensive legal work that respects the rights and interests of the workers are working in many ways. It is called a big step because the countries where the industrial revolution started at the international level were after several rebellions and the destruction of property.
In Ethiopia, the workers’ rights were respected, but the so-called quick response is also the focus of the government. It is only when they are able to fulfill their roles that the workers, employers, and trade unions are working together in order to benefit from better job platforms with more work knowledge and resources.
Setting minimum wage essential to improve laborers’ livelihood in Ethiopia – photo Ethiopia Insight
The Ethiopian Herald 5 March 2023
