Meet the Labour

The Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) has held its first general assembly in nearly three years on April 6, 2017. The industrial profile of the country has changed drastically since the Confederation`s formation in1963, from the majority of industrial and manufacturing enterprises owned by the state to private investors and foreign companies. Over the two and a half years since its last congress, the Confederation has dealt with numerous complaints from workers in various industries, including privatised companies, and private sector investments. One of the disputes highlighted during the assembly last week was the plights of employees of the Selendawa Textile Factory, a joint venture between the Ethiopian government and a private Turkish company, established in 2013. Two years ago, the Turkish shareholders abandoned the company and left the country, unceremonously. When the employees lodged a complaint with the Confederation claiming compensation and treatment of the workers following the closure of the factory, it facilitated a response from the Dire Dawa City Administration, which paid a month’s wage to workers, in addition to facilitating the transfer of the factory to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). The Dire DawaTextile Factory, which was transferred from government to private ownership, eventually ran into financial issues; this too was one of the cases referred to the Confederation by workers who were concerned that their rights were not being respected. Pictured (from left to right) are Tadele Yimer, president of the Ethiopian Employers’ Federation; Ketema Tessema, chairman of the CETU audit committee; Kassahun Follo, president of the CETU; and Abdulfetah Abdulahi, minister of Labour and Social Affairs, at the CETU general congress, held inside the National Cultural Centre, at Algeria Street, near Sidist Kilo.